The Hunter
by Roach99
Summary: After his death by the hands of the Master Assassin Connor Kenway, Shay Cormac is sent through a rift into an unknown world. Shay, now at an age before his induction to the Templar Order, but with his older mind intact, must now deal with new adversaries while struggling with his own personal demons, metaphorically and literally. Current Setting: RWBY Volume 2.
1. Chapter 1: The Rift

**I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed, they belong to their appropriate owners: Roosterteeth and Ubisoft.**

 _I've reached the end of the trail. The air is still, and I am a hunter._

* * *

 **Unknown Location  
Unknown Time  
Unknown Date**

I awoke to find myself in flat on my stomach, my head on grass and dirt. After some minutes of recovery, I finally got up, staggering slightly before finally finding balance before having to brush any dust or dirt off of my outfit.

I looked around to find myself in a forest, unlike where I was before. I brought my hand to the side of my head and groaned painfully, my head felt as though someone had been hammering at it with a black-iron mallet. I sighed as I brushed some hair away from my eyes.

 _Wait a minute? Longer hair?_ I thought to myself. My hair was usually brought back and tied into a ponytail, but this time my hair felt messy.

I managed to drag myself near a pool of water before finally inspecting myself.

 _I-I'm young again?!_ I nearly screamed in disbelief. It was as though I was back in my youth, barely a full adult, but it was some miracle that my clothes still fit, as though they shrunk to compensate for my new structure and appearance.

I flicked my hands back, my blades unsheathed from my wrists.

 _That's the first good news I have received in a while,_ I thought. I heard a groan behind me, I turned to see-

 _Him, that bastard!_ I approached the man who was still unconscious. The same man who I had recently fought, the same man who I had planned to kill. I unsheathed one of my blades, preparing to end the man's life. I finally ran the blade through the man's neck, but instead of blood pouring out of the wound, a light of gold had shown through the wound, causing the man to disappear in a flash of golden dust and malicious cackling.

 _Dammit! Only a trick,_ I knew that he wanted to to mess with my head one last time, but I still felt my own anger begin to grow nonetheless; that is, until the sound of bushes rustling interrupted my growing temper. I turned to the source of the sound, the forest was dark and most likely hid many predators, but I had to make sure it was someone at least.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked, my hand lowered to my sword for cautious reasons. It almost felt as though something evil... as though it was something that fed on the emptiness within one's soul, but it was most likely just an absurd assumption. It was most likely just my nerves getting the better of me.

But much to my dismay, a creature that could only be described as a monster appeared from the bushes. This creature was covered in black fur, it's face looked as though it were wearing a mask made of bone, hell, even bone-like protrusions stuck out from it's arms and back. As disturbing as the creature looked, it resembled that of a bipedal wolf.

This time I unsheathed my sword with my right hand and removed my parrying dagger with my left hand. I wouldn't lie, I was afraid, afraid of what this creature was and what it was capable of, like some demon from the gates of Hell.

But much more to my dismay, several more of these creatures appeared from the woods, encircling me.

 _Shit._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Boston, Massachusetts  
5:09 PM  
November 6, 1790**

It was midday in the city of Boston. Seven years had passed since the American Revolution had now ceased to a halt; now the land was being led by the new president John Adams, the successor of the Thirteen Colonies' first president, George Washington. After the defeat of the British, the people of the Thirteen Colonies were now free under a republic rather than ruled by the British Empire; and it was all thanks to the Assassins.

Connor Kenway knew that autumn was still in progression, he looked up to see the leaves as they were turned to shades of orange, red, and brown since the beginnings of September. But he was not here for the sights of the city nor for simple leisure. He had gotten word from one of his assassins, Stephane Chapheau, that an unfortunate incident had occurred in central Boston, a murder made to look like an accident, most likely killed by a Templar, seeing as the man murdered was an ally of the Assassin Brotherhood. Although the Assassins were too late to stop the murder, they were on alert for stopping another before it would happen. This incident had just occurred yesterday, now another had just been discovered, unfortunately.

The Master Assassin stood atop the ledge of a church, observing the crowd before him. He saw through the vision of the eagle, the world turned a dark shade of blue, surrounded by individuals with a blue hue surrounding them. He then spotted a red figure walking away from said crowd, he found the killer. Connor leaped from the ledge and into the hay bale, cushioning his fall, he pulled himself out of the hay and made his way to the center of the crowd. He activated his Vision to see that the red figure had escaped justice once again.

The crowd parted before him, revealing another man wearing colonist clothing, his eyes closed and his skin pale, as though it was disease that took him.

Another presence made it's way to Connor, prompting him to turn around and see one of his Assassins, Duncan Little, who he had recruited years ago. He same man who watched as the Master Assassin's father, the former Grand Master of the Templars, Haytham Kenway, kill his uncle.

"My apologies, Master Kenway. I was tasked with protecting this man here, but it seems our perpetrator got to him first," the lower ranked Assassin said, kneeling down to observe the man's wounds.

"There is no need to apologize, Duncan. He made it to his victim before we could defend him. Did this man have a name?" Connor asked.

"Yes he did, his name is James Bowdoin, I've heard that the man had met Ben Franklin in his earlier years as well as attended a convention regarding the Constitution," Duncan observed, turning the dead man onto his back to see a small puncture wound in his back.

"Stabbed?" he wondered.

"No, poisoned. Look here, a blade could not have killed him at this length," the Master Assassin answered, lifting part of the skin to reveal the length of the wound, revealing a small quantity of clear liquid oozing from the wound. Connor dabbed his finger and tasted it, he immediately spat out the stuff.

"Aconite, a poison commonly used by Templars," he concluded, Connor stood back up and turned, walking away from the scene of the crime.

"Master Kenway, if I may interrupt your current action for just a moment, me and the others have come up with an idea with who this man may strike at next and how we can stop him," Duncan explained, he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.

"And you're sure that this idea may work?"

"The rest of us thought with a little planning, we may catch this assassin of Assassins. Meet me at the Green Dragon Tavern and I'll tell you the details of our plan," he said, leaving the conversation and running to the location of their meeting.

 _This plan better work,_ Connor sighed as he followed the other Assassin to the tavern.

 **-Nothing is True, everything is permitted-**

It was now the dead of night, the sky was covered in thunderclouds, prompting the grey clouds to rain heavily onto the soil, creating mud. Connor stood at the center of a courtyard, the rain pattering on his hood and cloak. The plan was set in motion, they would finally catch this man for sure.

Duncan had explained to Connor that this man seemed to only hunt Assassins and those that were affiliated with the Brotherhood, so he had come up with the idea that if suddenly, the Master of the Assassins is now out in the open, alone, then this would draw this Assassin Hunter out of hiding. As risky as the plan was, Connor decided to go along with this plan. He waited, activating his Vision so he could get a clear view of his environment. He watched as the red figure appeared in his line of sight, standing on a small building. Connor turned off his Vision to get a more realistic view of the man.

His mouth and nose were covered by a cloth, but the rest of his face was uncovered. His hair was tied back in a ponytail similarly to Connor's hair before he shaved both sides of his head, leaving only the middle. Along with the style, his hair was grey, meaning that he was an older man, a Templar that hunted Assassins for a very long time. He was dressed in a black and red outfit, a small Templar insignia on his chest, and was adorned with straps meant for holding weapons. At his side laid a straight sword with the cross of the Templar on it's hilt, on the other side was a dagger and two flintlock pistols, and finally hanging on the man's back was a sort of rifle that looked different from other models of rifles and muskets.

The man finally stepped off the building, landing onto the ground with a quiet thump as his feet touched the soaked mud. He rose to full height, standing at equal size to the Assassin.

Connor finally decided to confront the man. The Templar's eyes filled with that of anger, pain, and... regret, as though he had suffered from something terrible in his past. But a Templar is still a Templar.

"So you're the Assassin Hunter," he stated, rather than asked.

"Aye, and I'll assume you're the so-called Master Assassin," the man said, his hand resting upon his blade in anticipation.

"Yes, I am. May I have the privilege of knowing the name of my opponent before he is dead?" Connor asked, an extremely rare smirk adorning his face.

"I suppose it is fair to grant the last request of a dead man. My name is Shay Patrick Cormac, but that will be of no importance to you anymore," he said in cold voice, never even bothering to grin as he was dead serious on the subject.

 _Good, keep him talking,_ Connor thought to himself, his hand reached for the flintlock at his side. He looked up to see several of his Assassins on the rooftops, ready to ambush the Templar as soon as he got the chance.

"I am Connor Kenway, Master Assassin," Connor said, getting the attention from the Templar.

"Kenway? Son of Haytham Kenway?" the man asked with a confused look. Shay's question almost caught Connor off guard, but he only gave the man silence.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Now tell me this: you are here, in the center of a courtyard, out in the open for me to see. Now, I must ask the obvious; this is really a trap, isn't it?"

Connor thought of a way to answer this man's question, but he already knew the obvious. So now he was finished with this facade.

"Yes, but that does not matter anymore," he said, he then unholstered his flintlock and fired it at the Templar.

The lead ball traveled into the man's shoulder, causing Shay to stumbled back and groan in pain as he clutched the wound.

 _Bastard got a lucky shot,_ Shay thought to himself, he then quickly removed his air rifle from his back and, instead of firing at the Master Assassin, fired a sleep dart at Clipper, who he had seen on the rooftop with a musket in his hands, using his Vision. Dodging another shot from Connor, he then fired a grenade at the next Assassin, Stephane, who flew back from the shot and landed with a hard thud. He then fired a shot at Duncan, which hit the man in the leg, causing him to get down on his other knee, the Templar then bashed the man over the head with the end of his pistol.

Connor ran up to Shay and swung his sword at the man, but he ducked and kicked the Master Assassin onto the ground. Shay was about to finish the man, but the Assassin Jacob Zenger attempted to crack his skull open with a club, but Shay had caught the blunt weapon and hit the man in the head with the handle of his own weapon, knocking him out. Shay then ran towards the one known as Jamie Collie, he then got down and slid as the man attempted to swing the large axe in his direction, the Assassin Hunter stuck out his arm to trip the man before standing back up to kick the man in the face, leaving the man out cold on the ground.

This attack finally left just two Assassin's remaining: Connor, who had finally gotten onto his feet, and Deborah Carter.

Connor and Deborah charged at Shay, who had finally unsheathed his sword, the same straight sword that had killed so many Assassins along the way.

Deborah stabbed at the Templar with her hidden blade, only for Shay to dodge her attack and parry another slash from Connor's tomahawk. Shay sidestepped as Deborah swiped at him with her dagger, only for the Templar to grab her wrist and twist it back, causing her to yell in pain. Shay finally smashed his head against hers, stunning her in the process before finishing up the attack with a kick to the chest, launching her onto her back.

"Now then, where were we?" Shay challenged, bringing his sword and dagger up to an offensive form.

"Luck is on your side if you survive this fight, I have killed more experienced Templars than you," This was not even a boast from Connor, for he has killed stronger Templars, including his own father. Rather than this being a boast of power, it was, instead, a warning.

Shay brought up his sword to strike at the man, only to be blocked by Connor's tomahawk. The head of the hatchet, now interlocked with the blade of the sword, was pulled back, sending the Templar onto the rain soaked ground.

 _I'm getting old..._ Shay cursed, he had to keep his wits together if he wanted to win this fight.

Connor ran towards the fallen man and swung his tomahawk down on the man, but Shay quickly recovered and kicked the man in the face before the head of the small axe could touch the ground, knocking it out of the man's hand.

Shay quickly rose to his feet and kicked the tomahawk away from the Master Assassin. He finally raised the sword over his head, ready to end Connor's life.

"How many times to do I have to tell you Assassins? I make my own luck," he said as he brought the blade down, only to watch as the Assassin rolled out of the way and quickly stood back up.

Before Shay could react, Connor's hidden blade buried itself into his neck.

"Then it seems that your luck has run out," Connor said as he pushed Shay onto the ground, landing on his back. Shay looked up to see the rain pattering down from above, storm clouds thundering in the skies as the Master Assassin paced around him.

Shay brought his hand to his wound out of instinct. He winced as he felt the sharp pain of where he was stabbed, the man pulled his hand up to see the crimson stains of blood on his hand.

He began laughing.

"Heh, I always thought I would go out like this, but I never thought a Kenway would end my life," he said, Connor glared at the older man.

"You think this is funny? You murdered those two men; and for what? Just to bait me to you?"

"Not just you, they were affiliated with the Assassins as well," he paused as he pulled himself off the ground and into a sitting position, blood still pouring out at a faster pace. His vision quickly began to blur.

"So you kill just because they were Assassins. Tell me, who sent you, what is your real reason for hunting Assassins?" Connor asked, but Shay merely sighed, though still with a wince.

"No one sent me. My reason? It is a long story, my past is my own, as is yours belongs to you. I have my reasons to hunt down your ilk, you have your reasons to hunt down mine," he laid back down on the ground.

"Perhaps... perhaps I may tell you my own story in the afterlife," Shay said as he closed his eyes.

Connor scowled at Shay, he then turned around and walked away from the man. Shay ignored the man and was finally left alone, awaiting the death that would finally greet him.

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

Shay opened his eyes to find himself in a bright blue field, the land shimmering with bright lights all around, bobbing and weaving like fireflies. He finally managed to stand back up, confused as to why he was still here.

So this must be the afterlife. Not quite what the old Templar had expected, but still, not unfortunate either.

"It seems you are in quite a dilemma, Mister Cormac," a voice said to him. Shay turned, in the process of unsheathing his sword, but he saw nothing.

"Put away the sword, Mister Cormac. I mean you no harm," the voice continued, shifting to different locations in the blue field.

'"And why should I trust you? Who are you anyway?" he said, putting his sword away, but was prepared to use his hidden blades should the need arise.

"If I could not be trusted, then I would not have gotten rid of that nasty wound in your neck," the voice pointed out. Shay brought his hand to his neck, feeling for the wound that had killed him, but it was no longer there.

"As for my name. I go by many names, but you will refer to me as Pluto," he said.

"Like what the Romans called one of their gods," Shay said.

"Precisely, only I am what you call a Precursor. An individual from the First Civilization," the voice then took the form of a man. A young man with pitch-black hair and pale white skin, wearing a black toga, with mist-like shadows surrounding him like a trail of fog, unlike the other 'gods' that other Assassins have met, who had were surrounded by light.

"And why would someone like you help a man like me?" Shay asked the man.

Pluto sighed as he waved his hand, revealing a brutal war between these 'gods' and humanity.

"Your people had mistaken our lives as myths which were filled with errors. Adam and Eve did not steal the Apple of Eden, it was given to them by the one known as Prometheus. Prometheus had always pitied your kind and saw that your race should not be treated as slaves nor beasts of burden. His intents were peaceful at first, asking Jupiter for their freedom, but he was stubborn.

"I was the only one that listened to Prometheus, so we helped Man in secret. I had built a safe haven for these people, called the Underworld, guarded by both my pet, the Cerberus, and my servant, Charon. In the end, I was a distraction for the higher ranks, Jupiter, Minerva, Juno, all of them, while Prometheus stole the Apple and gave it to Adam and Eve, giving them the fire in their hearts and soul to fight against the First Civilization," Pluto explained, waving his hand as the image faded away.

"What went wrong?" Shay asked, both curious and interested in this story.

"The solar flare, it wiped out us and the majority of the human race. But before I had passed, I used a Piece of Eden to copy my consciousness into the device. It was the same Piece you touched when the place known as Lisbon was destroyed," Shay immediately turned to look at the Precursor man.

"YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYING LISBON?!" Shay roared, rage welling up from within him.

"No, my mind was dormant from within the Piece. The destruction of the city was by your disruption. But nonetheless, some good came out of it," the dark Precursor said.

"Like what?" Shay grumbled.

"I was transferred into you, Shay. I was still dormant even within you until the time of your death. Now that my power is restored, I have come to offer you a deal," Pluto said, his mouth curling into a mischievous grin.

"What're you suggesting?"

"I have come to offer you a new life. Although I am not in my original body, the Piece of Eden had the power to open rifts between worlds. My deal? You are dead in this world, but in theory, you may be once again given life should you enter this new world. But should you die again of any cause, or be thrown into this land of Purgatory through unknown means, you will test it again and again, to see how many of these universes exist until I have gathered enough research, then you will be given access to whatever afterlife that lays ahead. You will be given your old weapons, but you must acquire new, more advanced weapons to adapt to your new world, as well as learn about the history of your new world. Now, what is your decision?" he explained.

This made Shay ponder this deal, he will be given the access to live again, but in worlds, thrown into the world with no known knowledge of it's history or technology. But he will live again.

"I accept this deal, just get it over with," Shay answered.

"Good choice, my friend. I know not what lies ahead, so be prepared," Pluto said, lifting his hand. The center of his palm lit up in a ball of white light until the entire field was covered in this light.

Shay's vision suddenly went black.

 **-Always hide in plain sight-**

Now Shay stood trapped by these devilish beings (he had counted five), only his sword and knife between him and the one in front of him.

They all roared in sequence at the Templar, with all of them charging at the man at once.

Shay had to think quick, he hastily grabbed a smoke bomb from one of the pouches on his belt and tossed it at his feet, immediately surrounding the man in a large cloud of smoke.

While these creatures began searching through the haze, one of them felt a sharp sting in it's neck, it roared ferociously as it grabbed it's assailant and tossed it to the ground. This attacker was none other than Shay himself.

The Assassin Hunter, rolled as soon as he hit the ground, minimizing the damage he took. He quickly sheathed his hidden blades, removed his flintlock pistols from his belt, and fired at these demonic creatures, but the lead projectiles did nothing but anger the creatures even more. Shay ran towards the beast and hacked off it's left arm with his sword, causing the beast to roar in anger and pain as it quickly began to bleed out from it's injury, forcing it to retreat back into the woods.

The second beast spotted Shay as soon as the smoke cleared, but it never stood a chance as it received a stab through the eye with the man's blade, penetrating it's brain and killing it instantly.

Shay then dropped his sword, unslung his air rifle from his back, and loaded it with a berserk dart, took aim, and fired. The dart exited the barrel of the gun and traveled into the beast until it embedded itself deep into the next creatures neck. the monster's hand flew to it's throat as the poison made it's way to it's heart. The beast's eyes then darted to the next creature with a look of what could only be described as delusional. The poisoned monster proceeded to then tackle it's brother, tearing it apart with it's claws and teeth before falling over onto it's back, with the poison finishing it's job.

This now left the last beast. Instead of beginning some epic duel between him and the last creature, Shay wasted no time in inserting a shrapnel grenade and firing at the beast, causing shards of metal to explode onto the monster, embedding into it's skin and sending it sprawling across the ground. He then fired a soporific dart at the creature, forcing into the subconscious realm known as sleep. He then unsheathed his sword and beheaded the beast as it slept.

"Now that that is over, time to search for a more civilized place," he said to himself, ignoring the fact that he had fought against five demonic wolves, more focusing on surviving rather than contemplating what had just happened in the last five minutes. He ran towards a nearby tree and began climbing it, grasping onto it's branches and pulling himself up until he reached the top of the tree. Shay took the time to sit on one of the branches and observe the land, all he saw was the green of the forest as far as the eye could see. He continued to search until he spotted a small grey dot in the distance.

 _A city,_ he thought to himself as he climbed down the tree.

He landed onto the grass, walking towards civilization. Not knowing what would be in store for the Templar.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: This is my first fic, what do you think? Constructive criticism would be appreciated, thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2: Offer from Ozpin

**I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed. At least not yet...**

 _What matters is that I followed my own creed..._

* * *

 **Vale**  
 **6:34 PM  
** **Unknown Time (according to Shay)**

Shay eventually made his way to the city, taking in the sights and sounds of this new world. The lights lit up brightly by means other than just oil and fire, the citizens wore bright and colorful diverse clothing that set them apart more than just their _natural_ appearance. Was this the future? It had to be, considering the technological advancements made by humanity and-

 _No Shay, this is another world as Pluto had told me. There is no way my world and this world can be related in any possible way,_ he scolded himself at the thought, remembering Pluto's words.

Even as he continued walking down the streets, he felt the presence of people staring upon him, confused because of his appearance, and concerned more than likely because of the many weapons he carried on him at the moment, but he decided to ignore their stares. Instead, he had to start with what he needed to do first: find temporary shelter until he had a more complete layout of his plans while he was currently in this new world.

As he continued walking down the street until he came across a small shop called _'_ _From Dust Till Dawn'._ Shay decided to enter the shop purely out of both his own curiosity and the fact that it was one of the only building in the city with it's lights still on. He opened the door to be greeted by an old man behind a counter filled with crystals and gems.

"Well hello there young man, welcome to _'From Dust till Dawn'_!" the old man said, "Are you looking to buy any Dust from this shop?"

"Dust?"

"Yes, Dust. Look here," he took out a small blood red crystal in the center of his palm, the gem was much darker than the other red crystals as well as more transparent.

"Frankly, I think this place looks a little too small to be a jewelry shop, sir," Shay responded as he turned his head to look around the place, which was filled with rows and rows of crystals, instruction manuals, or anything relating to the substance known as 'Dust'.

The man looked a Shay with a face of confusion, "You've never heard of Dust?"

"Well, let's just say I'm not from around here. Will that serve as a good enough answer?" Shay asked as he shrugged his shoulders in emphasis.

"Very well, Dust is a material found by humanity during their war with the Creatures of Grimm-"

"Grimm?" the word piqued the Templar's curiosity.

"Yes, yes. Evil, soulless creatures, often identified with black fur skin, with white bone faces resembling masks," the man explained. It took Shay a few seconds for him to finally realize that the creatures of the man's description matched that of the same creatures that attacked him in the forest.

"Anyway, Dust can be used for almost anything; from being put to use offensively in combat or being used as a power source for running machinery, that is why it was so valuable," he held out the crystal and handed it to Shay.

"And why are you giving me this? A tool used to power parts of this city?" Shay asked with a concerned expression.

"I have been looking for someone to carry this particular Dust crystal. Besides, it doesn't work, so I kept it as a worthless trinket. Perhaps you can have it, free of charge," he said, smiling that age-old smile.

A useless item for free? Seems reasonable, perhaps he could find a use for it in the future.

"Thank you sir, but I ask of something else," Shay said as he placed the small crystal within the many pockets of his overcoat.

"Yes, what is it?" the owner of the the shop asked.

"Is there somewhere I can stay for tonight? Maybe a room I can rent for the rest of the night?" Shay asked the man.

"Yes actually, there is a hotel just two blocks south from here and to your right, you can't miss it," the old man responded, nodding as he answered the young man's question.

"Thank you very much sir, I will find a way to repay you in the future," Shay said as he began to leave the small shop.

"One last thing-" the man interrupted, causing Shay to turn and face the man one last time.

"Yes?" Shay looked at the man.

"Have you ever thought of applying for Beacon, young man?" he asked.

Shay looked at the man in confusion for a second. Beacon? He would have to look into that later.

"I've considered it. Maybe I will," he lied, he walked out of the shop and to the hotel.

As Shay continued making his way to the place, a slip of paper dropped out of one of his pockets. He looked down at it before bending down to pick it up.

 _"Shay Cormac. As you are in this new world, I have decided to give you a bit of help. On this card is my symbol, press your finger on it and it will become the currency of the region or world. -Your friend, P."_

He pressed his thumb onto the symbol, the card glowed dimly before turning into a set of paper money. Shay smirked slightly. It seemed that Pluto was looking out for him. Anyway, he found himself inside the hotel that the shopkeeper had told him of. He approached a girl behind a desk, typing on some sort of futuristic typewriter.

What caught his eye in surprise was the color of her hair, the color of her eyes, and the rifle that lay at her side. This girl was young, in her mid-teen years, most likely working behind this desk as a temporary job. Her hair was a bright aquamarine blue while her eyes contrasted with piercing red eyes that held an expression of boredom. The gun that lay at her side had a long silver barrel with what appeared to be some sort of red spyglass on top of it.

"Hello, I'm here to rent a room," Shay responded, looking over the counter to see if the girl noticed him.

"How long do you plan on staying?" she asked in a clear, yet bored tone, not even bothering to look up.

"Just for the night," he answered.

She typed on the machine for a few more seconds before handing him a red card and replying.

"Your room number is A018, that will be 10 Lien. Have a good night," she said, as though she had said it a thousand times as she then pointed to her left at a long hallway, indicating the direction of the room.

"Thank you," Shay said as he took a look at the currency in his hands and began counting the quantity according to their specific numbers before setting down the money on the desk and walking away.

"You're welcome," she responded, still typing away on the machine.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 _Later that day..._

Shay, now laying on a bed in his temporary room, had been thinking about how he had been swept in this mess.

If it hadn't been for Lisbon, he would never be where is today. But what if someone else had destroyed the city? What if, instead of Shay, Liam had been sent to Lisbon instead? Would Liam have been the Assassin Hunter that The Assassins had feared, or would he have blindly accepted another set of orders before destroying another city in the process? If so, would Shay be alive to this day rather than sent to another world by a Precursor merely for an experiment? Shay would never know his answer, he could not take back his choices, as they were already made, he just had to live with these decisions.

Shay got up from his bed and unsheathed his sword: the same blade that had killed dozens, if not hundreds of Assassins only to keep the world safe. He then unsheathed his blades: the same ones given by Achilles to kill the enemy that he had sided with, but that all changed with a single order.

But now that he was dead in his previous world, his mission was finished. Although he had the ideals and beliefs of a Templar, he had no choice but to live in these worlds while others were blindly aware of the man in the red and black outfit walking beside them in the street.

Shay finally sheathed both his hidden blades and his sword, ready to start a new day with a clear layout of what he should do.

But those plans would be postponed at the moment, when he spotted a small group of men out from his room window, with a man walking with a cane despite seemingly having no physical difficulties moving on his own.

Despite having to tell himself to leave the matter alone, he couldn't help but feel a sort of nagging sense at the back of his head, telling him to get involved. That there was trouble waiting to happen.

The Templar immediately left the room, walking down the hallway. He caught a glimpse of the same young woman typing away with her fingers dancing away on each individual button, she immediately looked up to see him leaving the room.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she asked, curious as to why a man in the middle of the night was suddenly leaving the hotel.

"I'm checking out early," Shay responded, walking out the door and into the streets.

As Shay turned around the corner to see eight men, seven dressed identically and the last in a different attire, as though representing a hierarchy between the grunts and the man in the center. He activated his Vision, only to see them turn to a mixture of red and grey, meaning that the Assassin Hunter was not completely aware of their intent but had an assumption nonetheless. So he decided to run a little experiment.

He unsheathed a throwing knife from under his coat and tossed it at the man's feet. The blade gave off a loud *ping!*. The effect was immediate, the men turned around, Shay could see objects under theirs suits that he could only identify as firearms. His Vision finally labelled them as full red.

Shay finally grinned, his first smile in this new land. He walked behind a stand to reduce his visibility, he then removed his air rifle and loaded a sleep dart into the chamber, he took aim and fired, the dart whizzed past some of the other men and embedded itself into the neck of one of the henchmen that was in the back. Only the two beside him noticed, so they silently went over to their partner and began their attempts to wake him up. Shay finally revealed himself from his cover, the two men caught sight of him and began to pull out their weapons. Shay grabbed the gun by it's barrel as the man managed to take it out of his suit, and stabbed him in the neck with one of his hidden blades, he then spun around and slashed the throat of the second man as soon as he pulled out his gun as well.

"Pitiful," he said to himself. Shay picked up the remaining man, who was unconscious as the time, and slammed him into the wall, snapping him out of his drugged sleep.

"Wha..? Wait, who are you?" he said, reaching for his gun, but Shay grabbed it and smashed it against the man's skull and tossed it away.

"I'm going to ask you some questions. If you answer correctly, I'll let you li-"

"We're going to rob some cheap Dust store with Torchwick! That's all I know, I swear!" he pleaded, causing Shay to drop him and walk away.

"I actually expected resistance, what a shame," Shay responded, walking away from the man. The henchman immediately reached for his gun as soon as his back was turned, he grabbed the gun and cocked it. Shay unsheathed a knife from his belt and threw it into the man's skull as soon as the gun was about to fire.

The man was dead before he hit the ground.

Shay shook his head in disappointment and continued stalking after the five criminals. His pace continued to quicken silently as they continued to take no notice of him. The Assassin Hunter suddenly hid behind a dumpster as soon as the man in the center turned around to look at the rest of his men.

"Alright men, you know the plan: nab the dust and get out as soon as we can. Got it?" he asked them.

There was a mixture of 'yes', 'got it', and 'too easy' from the men.

The man was about to turn and continue his walk, but he stopped and looked at them once again.

"Wait a minute, weren't there three more of you guys?" the orange-haired man asked, confused by the sudden amount of henchmen. But he decided just shrug his shoulders in irritation and continued to walk out of the alley and into the streets.

 _Damn! I could have finished him now,_ Shay grit his teeth in annoyance. He decided to climb the building he was standing next to, trying to get a better view and search for more ways and opportunities to take out this man. Besides, it would cause panic to the civilians if five men suddenly died from a mysterious man who had just entered this town.

Shay finally made his way to the roof and jumped to the next few rooftops until he reached the corner building. He looked down the ledge to see the five men waking their way to the _'From Dust till Dawn'_ , only the henchmen now brandished red swords in each of their hands. Now he was obligated to kill them all.

He watched as the men entered the building. Observing as the middle man, the one known by the henchmen he had interrogated as 'Torchwick', began conversing with the shopkeeper. Shay finally climbed down from the building as soon as a henchman pointed a pistol at him. He stopped as the men moved away and started collecting the material known as 'Dust' from the pipes, the shopkeeper continued to hand Torchwick more Dust crystals.

So that's what they were: thieves. Shay made his way to the shop, his hand holding onto the hilt of his sword, despite the fact that it was still in it's sheathe.

The Templar looked through the window on the right to see something rather peculiar, a figure in red garb. He continued to watch as the man pointed a sword at the figure, but this person did not respond. Shay was impressed, this one had nerves of steel.

As soon as the man laid a hand on this person's shoulder, the hood fell. This figure that had ignored this man was, in fact, a girl. This surprised Shay, but what surprised him the most was her appearance. Pale skin, grey eyes, dark red hair, and some sort of device covering her ears. If Shay was any lesser man, he would've been stricken by her adorable demeanor; but he was no lesser man, he was a Templar, a hunter of Assassins.

His first instinct was to walk into the room and quickly remove any threat within the shop.

But what happened next surprised the Assassin Hunter so much, he was speechless as well as motionless. This red-headed girl tackled one of the men through one of the windows, causing her to land right beside the shocked Templar.

She stood up, a red contraption within her cloak unfolded into a red, enormous scythe. She spun the blade around before it lodged itself into the ground.

Shay had to process this through his mind, his curiosity in this city's advanced technology was blown away by what he had just seen.

The girl looked at Shay up and down, observing his appearance and his weapons.

"Hello," she said, her voice was strange, like this world, it was something he had never seen or heard before. It resembled that of a mouse, high-pitched in sound.

He looked at her, his mind still in the process of settling down. So he finally chose to say something.

"Need any help?" Shay asked as he unsheathed his sword and dagger. The girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure," she answered.

"Okaayy. Get them!" Torchwick said as he looked at the rest of henchmen and motioned to the two threats in front of him.

Shay rushed towards one of the men, blocking a strike from the henchman's blade as he attempted to hack the Templar to pieces. Shay merely grinned as he pierced the man's sword hand with his dagger, causing him to scream in pain, but his cry was silenced.

A hidden blade usually had that effect when accurately applied to the jugular.

The Templar dove under another blade as the next man slashed at him, only to be cut off as Shay pulled out a flintlock and fired into the man's cranium, causing the man to fall to the ground very limply and very dead.

Shay watched as the young girl fought off the other henchmen. He was surprised she was able to hold her own against these men. The girl disappeared in a flash (surprising the Templar with her inhuman speed) before finishing up with a midair kick to the last man's stomach as he fell to the ground, landing right to Torchwick with a sickeningly audible thump upon impact.

Torchwick looked down at the fallen man in disappointment.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were," he then turned his attention to both the girl and the man beside her, "Well Red and... Red and Black-" Shay scowled as Torchwick called him out.

"-I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," he dropped his cigar and smothered it with his cane.

"-And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways," Torchwick pointed his cane at the girl, the bottom of the cane flipped up to reveal a small reticle.

It took only half a second for Shay to realize what this man was about to do. He broke into a sprint to interfere with the nearest person.

In this case, the red-haired girl.

He grabbed her by the waist and sprinted as soon as the glowing projectile ejected from the man's cane, resulting in an explosion and sending Shay flying a few feet away, landing on his back.

The girl pushed herself off of him and stood up , picking up her weaponized scythe. Shay groaned as he as well stood back up.

"Umm... thanks," she said to him.

"You're welcome, but we have bigger problems," he said, pointing to Torchwick, who was halfway up a ladder.

The shopkeeper then opened the door.

"Would it be a problem to go after him?" Shay asked, the man shook his head.

The two ran after the man before they stopped beside the building.

Shay watched as she held her scythe just centimetres from the ground, she then held her hand out to him.

"Wha-"

"Just hold on," she explained. Shay then grabbed her hand, he then heard a loud bang and suddenly feel a strong force propel him into the air, he looked down to see that he the ground was getting smaller beneath him, he then looked up to see that they were nearing towards the building that Torchwick was already on.

As soon as they landed, Shay fell to his knees, his hands touching the ground. Almost on the verge of panicking. This was something else that was completely new to him: flying through the air on a weaponized farming tool with the only form of support being a pubescent girl dressed in a black-red dress and a red cloak.

"Never. Doing that. Again," he whispered in exasperation and shock, feeling the girl's hand pressed lightly on his shoulder in reassurance.

"Eh, you'll get used to it," she replied, she then turned her attention to Torchwick.

"Hey!" the girl yelled.

Shay barely heard the criminal say, "Persistent..."

If the red-haired girl's scythe could shock Shay, then the next thing to happen would blow his mind across the metaphorical floor.

A large, _loud_ flying metal machine, hovering above the ground and _**over the building**. _

This time, Shay was on the verge of passing out from the pressing amount of technological discoveries going through his brain. It was like something from the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci, only... much, much more advanced.

The machine lowered, allowing for Torchwick to step inside.

"End of the line, Red!" he yelled, tossing a red Dust crystal to Shay and the girl's feet.

 _Wait a minute, why would he do that?_ Shay thought. He got his answer in the form of an explosion, only to be blocked by a newcomer. A woman this time, possessing blonde hair, spectacles, and green eyes, wearing a black short shirt, white blouse, and a what appeared to be a tattered, short black cape, while holding a riding crop in her right hand. Shay looked at this newcomer, who seemed to be projecting a violet circle filled with runic, archaic symbols, which then disappeared after the flames died out.

Now who was she?

Shay turned to look at the girl who's name he was still not aware of, her mouth was open in awe. Shay now knew she had a reason to be awed by the woman before the both of them.

Now he looked at the woman, who pushed up her glasses and swung her riding crop in an arc, creating several beams of purple light, which then quickly made their way to the large metal machine. The beams slammed against the machine, causing it to sway back and forth. Shay could only watch as Torchwick stumbled around and made his way to the front of the machine.

The woman then raised her supposed weapon, a ball of glowing purple light flew to the machine, but instead of striking it directly, it flew above the plane and created a larger violet circle.

What happened next made Shay's jaw drop to the ground, metaphorically, of course. A storm began to form above the machine, to the point where it could engulf it; but instead of doing just that, the woman lowered her crop. Large shards of ice rained down from the storm clouds, violently striking the machine like it was the wrath of an angry god.

But something snapped the Templar out of his daze, another figure from the machine, one resembling a woman. Shay saw through his Vision to get a better look at her even though her face was concealed by the shadows; the red outline gave him the figure, but not the appearance.

Now this new figure decided to fight back. Shooting a ball of fire, causing the other woman to lift another violet shield, scattering it across the ground. The opposing figure lifted her hand up, the ground surrounded in red and orange came apart and created another explosion, but the assisting woman was quick thinking. She lifted her weapon, creating more purple light, but this time it affected the shards of ground. The ground pieces that blew apart in the explosion quickly formed together to make a large makeshift spear, which was then thrown. Shay watched as the spear was destroyed by the second figure but was quickly reformed, tearing apart at the machine. Until it was completely obliterated by the woman with a wave of arcane fire.

Shay looked to the girl once more to see a face of determination, her scythe reformed into a different form and began firing. This snapped Shay out of another daze of awe. He quickly loaded a shrapnel bomb and fired, only to be blocked by this woman's palm, along with red-haired girl's shots. The woman then waved her hand on an arc, Shay looked to see what she could've done, seeing no form of fire coming from her hands, but was instead thrown by an unseen force away from his original spot, hearing an explosion behind him, along with feeling both the heat and the shrapnel nearly digging into his back.

He quickly recovered and stood back up to see the machine close and fly away. Apparently, this woman's offensive capabilities only delayed the inevitable.

As soon as the machine flew away, Shay looked at both the girl and the woman standing beside him. The woman seemed rather unmoved by the attacks, as though she has had experience in this field of attack. The girl, on the other hand, now had a look of excitement on her face as she stared at the woman once more.

"You're a Huntress!" she exclaimed. She said it as though it was a title, a mantle given to her.

 _So that's what she is. Curious,_ he thought.

"Can I have your autograph?" she asked excitedly, Shay facepalmed at her question. Apparently this woman was here for another reason just to save their lives.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight, young lady," the Huntress said to Ruby, who had a look of sullen guilt on her face. She was forced to sit down on a metal chair, a harsh punishing light above her.

An interrogation.

Ruby turned around to see the boy behind her, the same guy who helped them during the fight, but he was too busy focusing on something else at the time.

"You put yourself and others in great danger," the Huntress continued.

"They started it!" she yelled.

Ruby heard the young man behind her sigh, she heard a grumble from him.

"You're only feeding the flames, girl," she heard him say

"As for you, young man. What did you think you were doing in the first place? It was just some game to you?" the Huntress, who then turned her attention away from Ruby, asked him, demanding an explanation from his own comment.

"No, I was merely doing what I had to. To serve and protect the innocent so that they do not need to protect themselves," he explained, crossing his arms and giving the woman a cold glare.

"And that gives you the right to intervene?" she demanded, equally measuring his own glare.

"If you have seen what I have seen in my own lifetime, you would understand," he answered, earning a sigh from the Huntress and a worrying glance from Ruby. She then focused her attention to her once again.

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back-" she said, earning a smile from Ruby.

"-And a slap on the wrist," she finished, hitting her crop onto the table, causing Ruby to jump back in fright with a small yelp.

"But there is someone here who would like to meet you," she walked away to reveal another man walking into the room, possessing white hair, a pair of glasses, and wearing clothes of green and black, holding a plate of cookies and a cup,

"Ruby Rose," he said to Ruby, the younger man looked up to see the older man, then he looked at her.

"...Oh," the younger said.

"You... have silver eyes," he observed.

"Umm..." she tried to speak, but couldn't think of what to say.

"So, where did you learn to do this?" he asked, the woman holding a screen, recording her fight against the henchmen. While the younger man standing beside her was staring deeply at the screen, his eyes saying ' _What kind of black magic is this?'_.

"Signal Academy," she admitted.

"They taught you to use one of most dangerous weapons ever designed?" the older man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it was one teacher in particular," she explained.

"I see," he said, setting down the plate. The younger man in red and black proceeded to watch Ruby eat the cookies.

"Are you hungry, young man?" he asked.

"No," the younger one said, as though suspicious of the cookies that she was eating.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow," he explained, as though enigmatic.

"Oh, thash muh unkel!" she tried to say with a mouthful of crumbs. The young man once again sighed. Ruby noticed and swallowed the rest of her cookie.

"Sorry, that's my Uncle Qrow, he's a teacher at Signal! I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, now I'm all like-" she started making ninja noises and movements with her hands as though she was one. She then heard the man laugh a little after hearing what she just said, good to know that things between her and him were starting to look better.

"So I've noticed," both Ozpin and the younger man said as the same time, they looked as each other again for only a second before focusing their attention on her.

"And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" Ozpin asked.

She sighed, "I want to be a huntress."

This actually surprised the man beside her. She prayed to whatever deity that looked down on this world that she earned some brownie points for the younger man standing behind her, y'know, to make a first impression.

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years left of training at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. You see, my older sister is starting there this year and she's trying to become a huntress, and I'm trying to become a huntress so I can help people, and my parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!', I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and really, gosh! You know!?" the red-haired girl explained rather loudly.

Miss Goodwitch looked at her worryingly, then to the younger man, who merely shrugged his shoulders, seemly approving her choice of lifestyle, causing the Huntress to sigh. Ruby took notice of this and gave a sort of 'thank you' look.

"Do you know who I am?" the older man asked.

"No," said the young man dressed in black and red, earning a glare from Goodwitch, who seemed to have clenched onto her riding crop harder in irritation.

"You're Professor Ozpin, you're the headmaster at Beacon," she answered.

"Hello," he introduced to both her and the other.

"It's nice to meet you," she said. Ozpin waited for the other man's response, but only received a nod instead.

"You want to come to my school?" he asked.

"More than anything," Ruby answered.

He turned to miss Goodwitch, who merely 'humphed' and turned her head away from him.

"Well, okay," he said.

Her eyes widened, finally realizing Professor Ozpin was actually giving an invitation to his Academy.

"OH MY G-" she was about to scream in joy until she was cut off by Goodwitch as she raised her hand slightly to silence the little girl.

"But before we can go further into the matter. Please, miss Goodwitch, can you please escort miss Rose out? I would like to have a discussion with our other guest," he told her, who nodded and helped Ruby up, leaving both men to their own devices.

 **-Always hide in plain sight-**

"Now what am I to do with you?" the man known as Ozpin asked Shay, more asking himself than asking the Templar.

"You can let me go, that's a start," Shay said.

"Yes, but no one's keeping you imprisoned here. You may leave if you like," Ozpin said, motioning to the door with his arm.

Shay got up and headed for the door, "Good, I am glad we had this discussion."

"Just don't be surprised if your face ends up on the news," the professor said, causing the Assassin Hunter to freeze and turn around.

Ozpin watched Shay make his way to the seat and sit on it once again.

"What news?" he demanded.

Ozpin held up the rectangular object again, showing the fight again, but this time it was centered around Shay, who had fought the other two criminals.

"While Ruby incapacitated her enemies, albeit crudely, and were later arrested as soon as the police arrived. You did not give your enemies time to use their own aura and, thus, killed them in cold blood, along with the fact that there are three more bodies in an alleyway. What surprises me even more is that you do not have any form of identification. No name, no place of birth, and no photo of you anywhere in either Vale or all of Remnant at all. How is that so?" he asked Shay, his hands, evenly pressed together.

"That would be hard to explain, but why should I explain anything to you?" the Templar asked.

"Because I'm trying to help you. You see, I have studied your methods of fight on surveillance, and you seem to be able to hold your own. So I am offering something that would benefit you greatly," he said.

Shay finally realized what Ozpin was getting to.

"You're offering me to go to this 'Beacon', aren't you?"

"Correct, not only that, I will remove any evidence of you ever being at the scene of the crime, but at the same time, I do not want to endanger miss Rose. So I will just edit the video to make it look as though it was a mere unidentifiable vigilante who had decided to come to her aid," Ozpin explained.

Shay thought about it, weighing the pros and cons of his current situation.

"And what if I still say no?"

"As I said before, you are free to leave, but you will have to deal with a murder on your hands. Besides, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, not many people like you can be accepted into Beacon, also the fact that you might have the ability to further hone your skills," the older man said.

The Assassin Hunter stood up, Ozpin continued watching with unblinking eyes. Shay unsheathed his sword and set it on the table, along with his dagger, pistols, knives, bombs, rope darts, air rifle, and ammunition that he was holding onto, but still decided to keep his hidden blades.

"Well, it seems you are always prepared. But why remove your weapons?"

"Shay Cormac. My name is Shay Patrick Cormac," he said to the aged man, causing him to smile.

"Glad to see that changed your mind so quickly. But why change your mind from leaving to staying?"

"Although I am capable of living such a life of hiding and surviving, that is not a life one would choose voluntarily, were he not in an unforgivable world. You are willing to be rid of evidence and offer me a home at your academy, albeit temporarily. Besides, the little one known as Ruby seemed to 'ave grown on me. So to put it bluntly, yes, I accept your offer," Shay held out his hand, which was received and shaken by the professor of Beacon. It was true, the little red one did grow on Shay. To him, she was naive, but her heart was in the right place nonetheless.

"All valid points. Welcome to Beacon, Mister Cormac," Ozpin said.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin," Shay responded.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: So... what do you guys think so far? Good? Bad? In the middle?**


	3. Chapter 3: Beacon

**Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe some of you guys are taking an interest in this, I would like to say thank you, ladies and gents.**

 **Alright, let's start with my first Q &A: **

**Ahem, our first question is from geoffrey hogue (majestic name, by the way).**

 **geoffrey hogue: He takes on the appearance of early game Shay, before Lisbon. But he'll revert to his post-Lisbon look later in the story.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _"You broke the Assassins, betrayed everyone you knew, sided with... our worst enemies... and for what?"_

 _"To save the world."_

 _"Hehe... I hope that world... is a good one..."  
_

* * *

 **Vale, on course to Beacon Academy  
10:47 AM  
Unknown Time (According to Shay)**

Shay stared in awe as he was aboard the ship, carrying students to this so-called Beacon Academy. On this mechanical behemoth, he caught sight of the city and it's size. His hand resting on the glass, staring in awe as his mind still could not fathom how far technology has progressed, despite the fact that this he was not on his own world. But it was something that he could be amazed by nonetheless.

He turned around and took a seat, scanning the room and observing the people who would be at Beacon; on his right was the young girl he had met earlier, Ruby Rose was her name, talking to her was a girl who appeared slightly older, but was quite young nonetheless. The look on young Ruby told him that she was afraid of attending, mostly because she had entered the academy at a younger age. Shay took the time to further observe her appearance. Black and red seemed to be what she sported the most, it suit her to an extent, but what bothered him was how much it has revealed her legs. The Templar had also taken notice of the pins that helped keep her cape on her: the crosses that frighteningly resembled both the Christian and Templar Cross, this made his curiosity grow significantly as to why they were on a world that did not belong to him.

Meanwhile, on his left, sat a boy clutching his stomach, his face sporting a sick green tint. He was dressed in somewhat medieval armor crossed with similar features to what the people of Vale wore, at his sides lay a sword and a select number of pouches.

"Are you alright?" Shay asked the young man.

"Huh... yeah, I'm alright, never better," he said, gagging slightly. Shay flinched as the boy nearly hurled up his breakfast.

"Is this your first time as well?" the young man asked, groaning slightly after.

"Yes, it is. But it seems that you aren't faring any better, forgive me for my own bluntness," Shay responded.

"No no... it's cool. I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc," he held out one of his hands to the Templar.

"Shay Cormac. If it helps, Jaune, the ride is almost over," Shay said to the increasingly sick boy.

"Thanks," Jaune responded.

"...The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa," a voice suddenly said, causing Shay to jump at the voice, but at the same time causing him to scowl at the mention of Torchwick. He looked up to see a portrait of Torchwick holding a a black screen containing his name, the Department, and a series of numbers.

The screen then turned to a woman with the planet in the background, the subtitle read 'Lisa Lavender'.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-" the screen disappeared.

Although Shay had to observe the marvels of technology, he noticed that these 'Faunus' sported animal-like characteristics, holding signs that, although were partially obscured, said such words saying 'We are not animals!'. In Shay's eyes, it seems that his world and this one weren't so different after all, both sported discrimination between races, and Shay loathed things such as racism and prejudice. He also wondered what this 'White Fang' group was, but he noticed the way the reporter had spoken, past-tense, saying that they _**were once peaceful**_ , prompting Shay to narrow his eyes in suspicion.

Now instead of the screen, there was now a projection of a woman, the same one whom he had met yesterday.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she said to the people around her, she looked familiar..

"Who's that?" Jaune asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch-"

"There's your answer," Shay answered to the young man.

"-You are among the most privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world," she then disappeared after her speech.

As a Templar, Shay was tasked to uphold peace and order for the people. As long as peace was involved for the people, he was fine with such principles.

Shay watched as Ruby brought herself closer to the glass to get a better view of the place, encouraging him to do the same.

"Look, you can see Signal from up here," he heard.

He looked out in the distance to see a small silhouette of a building towering over a cliff and a multitude of waterfalls. Shay turned to his right to see that Jaune was straining as hard as he could to contain his bile, so he ran as fast as he could to the front of the plane.

Shay heard a small splat nearby, he looked down to see that some of the vomit could not be contained.

"Um..." he tapped Ruby on the shoulder. Before she could look up to fully see his face, she first saw his hand, which pointed down at the yellow one's shoe.

"Oh gross, you have puke on your shoe!" Ruby shrieked.

"Gross, gross, gross," the yellow one chanted loudly as she tried not to panic.

"Get away get away! Get away from me!" Ruby continued to scream, causing Shay to stifle a laugh as he watched the scene unfold, but he had to help anyway.

As the yellow one tried not to panic, he quickly reached down and grabbed her by the ankle.

"Hold still," he commanded sternly. Surprisingly, she obeyed and kept quiet.

Shay produced a handkerchief from under his robes, he unfolded it and began wiping off the disgusting bile until the shoe was nearly spotless. He looked up to see the girl's violet eyes give off a sign of relief and gratitude. He then grabbed the dirty washcloth and tossed it into a bin.

"Thank you," she said to him.

"I'm only doing what anybody else would've done, mi'lady," he said, causing her to blush and for Ruby to stare for only a second, but still managing not to see his face for some reason. Shay merely bowed and returned to his seat, resting his head back until the machine had landed, closing his eyes to rest them for only a while.

After a few minutes, he opened one of his eyes to see that the yellow-haired beauty had suddenly turned from his direction. He grinned mischievously, she had been watching him while he wasn't looking.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

In only a matter of seconds, the ship had landed, giving Jaune to run as fast as he could and release all the vomit that finally spewed from his mouth. Shay walked over to him, patting him on the back.

"It'll be fine, Jaune. Maybe next time you'll get used to it," he said, turning away and walking towards the school.

Shay finally got a better view of Beacon, which had lived up to it's name. The scenery was built with lampposts, trees, and red flags that seemed to hung by some of the lamps. The building itself was adorned in grey, white, and black; covered in spires that seemed like something from the kingdoms of Russia, like a beacon. Yes, exactly like a beacon.

The Assassin Hunter was almost ahead of the two girls. Ruby, who was ogling not at the students, but at their weapons, while the yellow was trying to tell her that they were merely just weapons.

"Ooh sis! That kid has a collapsible staff, and she's got a fire sword!" she squealed in joy, almost tempted to follow these people, but was pulled away at the last second. Wait a minute... _sis?_ As in, the shortened version of the word 'sister'? But they looked nothing alike!

"Easy there, little sister-" Yup, that confirmed it.

"-They're just weapons," she responded to Ruby's reaction.

"Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us! They're so cool!" she yelled. Shay looked at his own sword, the same one he found during the siege of Fort De Sable, against the Assassins, it had done him good on many occasions.

"Well why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" the yellow-haired girl asked, prompting Ruby to unsheathe her scythe. Shay had to admit, it still impressed him every time she took it out.

"Of course I'm happy with Cresent Rose-" Jesus Christ, they named their weapons? Shay nearly groaned. Even better, she included her own last name into the weapon!

"-I just like seeing new ones, it's like meeting new people. But better," she murmured.

"Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

"But why would I need friends when I have you?" Ruby asked innocently. Shay chuckled at the naivety of this girl, she was very much a child in a world for the older.

"Well actually my friends are here, gotta go catch up, 'kay see ya bye!" the yellow one answered suddenly and left so fast Shay couldn't keep up with them. He almost glared at her, thinking it was rather rude for Ruby's own sister to just leave her there.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? ...I don't know what I'm doing," she muttered, dazed by all the sudden confusion. It only took a second for Shay to stop and try to catch her, but managed to grab her arm. The rest of her toppled several briefcases.

"What are you two doing?!" Shay heard a rather obnoxious voice shriek, he looked up to see a white figure look down at them.

"Excuse me?" Shay asked. The owner of said voice belonged to another young girl dressed almost completely in white, with the exception being some red underneath her dress. Shay immediately knew that this was some form of royalty, just one of the very things he loathed the most.

"Um... sorry," Ruby said.

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?" she demanded.

"She apologized to you and had no idea that she could've fallen, you don't need to be-" Shay tried to defend Ruby, stepping in front of her and covering the space between both young women.

"I'm not talking to you!" she snapped. Shay scowled as he unsheathed one of his hidden blades, but immediately retracted it as soon as he realized that, although how loud and obnoxious she was, the girl is still an innocent. Maybe if he pricked her with a sleep dart, she might be a bit quieter, but the Templar decided against the action.

"Fine," he responded darkly, taking a side to the right, watching as Ruby picked up one of the cases and handed it to the alabaster girl.

"Give me that!" she snatched it out of her hands and opened it.

"This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry. What are you, brain dead?" Shay could only scowl in anger as she continued to lecture the poor girl, but was slightly interested in her explanation over the properties of Dust.

"Fire, water, lightning, energy! Are you even listening, is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" the girl asked. The Templar, on the other hand, watched as the Dust entered Ruby's nostrils, forcing her to sneeze in the next few seconds, and along with what the other girl explained about the certain elements of Dust, it was not going to be pretty.

The red dressed girl finally sneezed, creating a plume of fire from her nose and, by the sudden karmic justice of a higher being, covered the white-colored girl head to toe in said fire. Shay had to admit, it was pretty funny, so he decided to laugh. Not just because it was funny alone, but because he knew that it would spite the rude girl.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about! What is so funny?" the girl now redirected her anger to Shay, who was in tears at the moment, trying to breath. It has been forever since had had laughed, not since...

Shay stopped laughing immediately after the memory played out in his head. Adewale, Hope,... Liam, the people that he had known that were closest to him. Dammit! Why did he have to suffer emotional trauma at this moment?!

"I'm really, really sorry," Ruby apologized.

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" she scorned.

"Well, I..." she looked to Shay, trying to see if she can get some support from his side.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school, it's not just sparring and practice, you know. We're here to fight monsters, so watch where you're going!" she yelled.

"She said she was sorry, princess" Shay interrupted Ruby, taking her side. Shay was on the verge of taking out a dart from his own personal arsenal, ready to stick the brat and put her to sleep, but even that was halted by a new voice.

"It's Heiress, actually," the Templar turned to see the source of this new voice. Another girl dressed in black and white, a bow on top of her head and a sword strapped to her back. Her hair was black and her eyes were amber, as though they can look into the soul of another. Too bad Shay had the same ability, only he had to kill people to get this effect.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellants in the world," this newcomer bluntly explained, holding a glass bottle of red dust in her hand.

"Finally, some recognition," 'Weiss' said, her hands at her sides and look of pride on her face. But the way this girl had said it, Shay knew that a little more than recognition was going to be explained as well.

"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor force and questionable business partners," she finished, earning a nod from Shay, she silently nodded back so only the two of them knew that they were on the same side, but for entirely different reasons.

"How dare-, the nerve of-!" Weiss tried to say something, but only snatched the bottle out of her hands and left with a grunt.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby yelled.

"Guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day," Ruby muttered, "So what's-?" she turned her head to look at the black-clothed girl, but she was leaving as well.

Shay watched as she was in the process of falling down, not by accident, but in disappointment and sadness. So instead of letting her fall, he once again caught her by the arm, only this time in succession.

"It's going to be fine," Shay reassured the young girl, who looked up to see the once-older man.

"You really think so?" Ruby asked.

"Of course. In fact, here's a friend coming now," he said, watching as Jaune approached the two.

"Need a hand there Shay?" Jaune asked. Although Shay didn't need the help and was perfectly capable of helping Ruby, he decided that she needed some more friends other than him.

"Sure. Miss, I would like you to meet a more recent friend of mine, this is Jaune," he said, letting the red-haired girl grab onto the blonde boy's hand and help her up as well.

"Ruby," she introduced as well. Well, it seems that they are starting to get along.

"Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship, Vomit-boy?"

"Yeah, but that was just because I got motion sickness," he admitted, scratching the back of his head in slight shame.

Ruby then spun on her heels and turned to Shay.

"Aren't you the same guy that-"

"Helped your sister? Yes, yes I am," Shay interrupted quickly. His eyes widened slightly, then motioned to Jaune, then to her, trying to tell her through body language rather than words itself.

She seemed to catch on quickly, "Okay, thanks for helping Yang, I can't imagine how much she would've panicked if that mess was on her for any longer."

 _So that's what her sister's name is... Yang. Sounds like a name from China._

They continued to walk in a random direction, taking them down a narrow, curving path.

"I was just doing what any man would've done, were he not in a state of sickness at the time."

"Hey, all I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune yelled.

"Look, I'm sorry, Vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind," she apologized to the boy.

"Oh yeah, what if I called you Crater-face?" he taunted.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Actually, there was no explosion, she just sneezed fire in some girl's face, it was quite amusing," Shay pointed out.

"Well the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

"Do they really?" the Templar asked in false curiosity, all three were new to Beacon after all.

"They will. Well, I hope they will. I mean, my mom always says, um... nevermind," Jaune trailed off. Shay smiled for only a second, the two seemed to become friends, maybe if he left the two alone, maybe he might have enough time to make it to-

"So I got this thing," Ruby stopped him, pulling out her scythe.

 _Dammit Ruby! Why must your weapon always catch me off guard!_ Shay nearly yelled, but managed to only keep the though to himself.

"Jesus Christ!" Shay yelled, although the surprise was only partial, he had seen the weapon before, but it still managed to surprise him.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked.

"It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle," she explained.

"A wha-?" both Jaune and Shay said at the same time.

"It's also a gun," Ruby simplified her answer, cocking the scythe, rifle... scyfle? Rithe? Aw fuck it.

"Oh, that's cool!" the boy exclaimed.

"So what do you two got?" she asked Jaune, who stared at the sword at his hip, and Shay, who only stared at the rest of his weapons that almost seemed to cover his entire body.

"Oh- uh, I got this sword," Jaune unsheathed said sword.

"As do I," Shay unsheathed his own sword as well.

"Ooh," Ruby merely looked at the swords in there hands.

"Yeah, I've got a shield too!" he also took out a small rectangular object, which then unfolded into a shield. Although it wasn't Ruby's scythe, he still couldn't help but be even a little impressed.

"So what do they do?" Ruby asked, as though she was comparing them to her own weapon. Jaune nearly slipped, causing the shield to fold and unfold several times before returning to his hand.

"Well the shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just put it away," he explained.

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?" the red-haired girl wondered.

"Yeah, it does," Jaune admitted, slumping over.

"At least it helps with making more space when putting it into a bag or anything similar, so you got that working for you," Shay said, his optimism certainly a reminiscence of his friend and First Mate Christopher Gist.

"He's got a good point. By the way, besides the sword, what do you got?" she asked Shay.

"Besides the sword and dagger, I have these guns," he pulled out the two small flintlocks.

"Those look... outdated," Ruby observed.

"I know they're old, but along with the pistols, I also have these," Shay walked over to a small wooden table and began to unload every weapon on him. His air rifle, knives, blow pipe, smoke bombs, rope darts, and ammunition.

There was a small moment of silence.

"What does this do?" she walked over to the table and picked up the air rifle.

"That is an air rifle, I... bought it during a trip. Unlike other conventional weapons, it makes no sound. It fires things such as sleep darts. The only drawback is that it does not fire bullets, but a friend of mine fixed that problem when he added a device used to fire grenades," Shay explained, removing the weapon from her hands and putting the rest of his weapons back in their respected sheathes.

"That's cool!" she said as Shay finished putting the weapons away.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it," Ruby continued on the subject of her weapon.

"Wait, you made that?" Shay asked incredulously.

"Of course, all students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" she looked at the both of them.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Like I said earlier, some of them were bought or given, the rest were found," Shay said, technically telling the truth in some way.

"Sounds like a family heirloom to me, and it's nice that you decide to always come prepared. I like them, both of them. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days," she said to Shay and Jaune.

"Yeah, classics," Jaune mumbled.

"Classics?" Shay wondered, his weapons seemed relatively new to him.

"So why'd you help me back there, in the courtyard?" she asked Shay.

"I didn't like the way... Weiss was treating you, along with the fact that I saw your sister leave you back there. Along with the fact that you lack friends in Beacon, so when Jaune came along, I decided that you needed an additional friend other than myself," Shay answered.

"Right, my mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'," the boy said.

"Huh, hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I dunno, I was following you two. You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?" Jaune asked the red-haired girl and Shay.

"Let's just turn around and head back before we're late," Shay explained, doing just that.

"Hey! I... never got your name, I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose," she held out her hand.

The Templar shook it with his own, "Shay Cormac, it's been a pleasure to meet you. Both of you."

"Thanks, I guess," Jaune said.

"So... race you there!" Ruby yelled, breaking into a sprint.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jaune yelled.

"Dammit Ruby! You don't get a head start!" Shay laughed. Besides that event with Ruby and Weiss, he doesn't remember a time when he ever laughed after becoming a Templar, it seemed to him that this adorable girl seemed to counter his usually somber mood. So he decided to live with this new found happiness.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

Knowing the inhumane speed of the girl, Ruby was obviously it in first place. Shay made it into second with Jaune close behind him. Shay knelt down, grasping both his knees and gasping heavily, he doesn't remember a time when he had to run this hard to outrace a girl who can run almost literally run faster than lightning.

"Good (gasp) workout..." Jaune wheezed, trying to stand up straight.

"That... was a (wheeze) terrible... idea," Shay exhaled before following Ruby.

"Ruby, over here! I saved you a spot!" he heard a familiar voice, Shay looked up to see Yang, whom Ruby had told him about earlier.

Although he was aware that they were sisters, he was still unforgiving over the fact that she left Ruby in the dust, and not the magical kind of dust.

"Oh, hey I gotta go! I'll see you two after the ceremony!" Ruby said, running to meet up with her sister.

"Hey, wait! Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?" Jaune thought out loud. Shay finally had an idea forming in his head, a devious, malicious, cruel and unusual plan in his mind, he grinned evilly, although Jaune or anybody else didn't see it.

"I think I may know someone you might be fond of," Shay said, doing his best to successfully hold a straight face.

"Yeah? Like who?"

Shay pointed out among the crowd, toward a certain white-colored heiress.

"There, the white one. I'm certain you may get to know her better if you talked to her," Jaune looked at the girl, unaware of the shit-eating grin that Shay was giving to Weiss.

"Oh, thanks Shay," Jaune said, shaking Shay's hand.

"Glad to 'ave been of assistance, but I best be on my way," he said, patting the blonde young man on the shoulder before walking away, unknowing of the hellish glare another red-haired girl was giving him.

His first malicious scheme in this world and it was going to be off to a great start, he had to give thanks to Gist and Haytham, who taught him that trick of deception. Besides, Weiss really needed someone to calm her down, so it wasn't entirely bad.

"Wow, real smooth," Shay heard a voice behind him, he turned to see a red-haired girl walking over to him. This girl looked far different than Ruby, more mature and dressed in a garb similar to what a Roman Gladiator would wear, if they allowed women in the Coliseum, more like she had spent several years in a bridewell.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Shay replied.

"That really was uncalled for," the girl said, giving him an angry stare.

"Weiss, the white one, was bullying Ruby, the red one, earlier. I'm not known to those that are close, or once were close to me, as a man of forgiveness. I was just evening the odds," Shay shrugged his shoulder.

"And so you manipulated a friend just to get back at her? I could almost smell the hypocrisy on you," she said in a monotone voice.

"Every bully is equal in my own eyes: rude, callous, and despicable. Although she may have a change of heart later, I will remember it. As much as I am against it, this is a time where I must descend to one's level and deal with them on their own ground. Yes, I may regret the words that I had said to my friend, but she must be punished in some way," Shay explained harshly, never bothering to defend his own stance.

"What made you like this?" she asked, knowing full well that Shay was not always like he was now.

"Some former friends of mine, and the sudden pressure and confusion of ending up in this wor- Vale and Beacon."

"And these friends of yours...?"

"Dead, murdered," Shay responded bluntly, not just the Assassins' betrayal, but the Templars' principles that molded him into the man he was today.

"Well I'm sorry, it's just that you shouldn't do things like that," the red-headed girl apologized, her hardened gaze softly.

"It's in the past now. Issues aside, I'm Shay, Shay Cormac," he held out a hand. The girl stared at his hand before shaking it.

"I'm Pyrrh-" she was about to say her name before being interrupted by a mic.

"Ahem... I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people," Professor Ozpin said. Shay walked closer towards the front of the stage, now convinced that this was no mere coincidence, because these were requirements that he needed for this world: to learn, to train, and to protect the people.

"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far," Shay only stared at the man in shock, listening as the words sounded more and more like that of the Templar Order. First Ruby's cross pins on her cape and outfit, now this?

"It is up to you to take the first step," he finished, walking away only for Professor Goodwitch to take his place.

"You will gather in the ballroom. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready, you are dismissed," she said.

"He seemed kind of off, almost like he wasn't there," he heard Yang say.

"I'm a natural blond y'know," Jaune said to Weiss.

" _Jesus Christ_ ," Shay whispered, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Well, might as well look around while we have the time," he said to himself, walking away.

Yang turned her head and noticed the owner of the voice walked away, the same guy who helped her earlier.

 _Maybe I should thank him,_ she thought to herself, deciding to follow the man.

Shay found himself walking through one of the halls until he reached a new room, one stacked with several shelves with even more books inside.

"A library? My God, this place probably has more books than the mythical Library of Alexandria," Shay exhaled, not knowing where to start, but full aware of the person behind a column, watching him from a distance.

He turned to one section of the library marked "History", running his finger through the spines of each book regarding said subject, filled with older and updated books at once. Shay picked a random book and 'accidentally' dropped it, prompting him to kneel down and pick it up. He looked to the side to see a flash of yellow disappear at the last second.

"I know you're there, come out while you still possess the ability to breathe air," he threatened, his hand tightening around his sword.

Eventually, it was Yang who revealed herself, "Like you think you can actually kill me," she taunted.

"Would you like to find out?"

"Hmm... I think I'll pass. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me with the... incident," Yang said, holding out her hand towards him in a 'thank you' sort of way.

Shay looked at it for a second before removing his hand from his sword and placing both arms behind his back.

Yang frowned, "Alright, what is it?"

The Assassin Hunter merely pointed an accusing finger at her, "Nothing, nothing. I just remember that you left your sister while you ran with the rest of your peers."

"Oh, you saw that?" she laughed nervously.

"I saw everything," he answered bluntly.

"Hey, I was in the moment, that's all," she defended, raising her arms in protest, but Shay scoffed at her answer.

"Really? The last time I was in the _moment_ , I was shot in the back and fell off a cliff. Take better care of your sister, she's only a child compared to the rest of us," he lectured harshly.

"Sounds tough for you, but you have no right to tell me how I should take care of my sister. There comes a time when you have to learn on your own," she responded, as though quoting a line at her last sentence.

Shay thought of her answer, "Seems fair. Perhaps I was wrong. As for introductions, I'm Shay Cormac," this time he extended his hand towards her.

"Yang, Yang Xiao Long," she gripped his own hand, applying pressure. Shay noticed this as well, so he applied his own. This hand-shaking feud continued until their fingers began to turn purple. Eventually, it was Shay who had to let go.

"Damn, you have a grip of iron," he said, she only chuckled at this.

"Thanks, you're not so bad as well. I've had to use that grip on more than a few occasions, but one seemed the funniest," she said, chuckling at the memory of a certain gang leader who was on the verge of getting his balls crushed to a pulp.

Another awkward silence.

"So... should we head to the ballroom?"

"Lead the way, hot stuff," Yang flirted, causing Shay to roll his eyes at her comment.

"Not the best of times," Shay said.

"Sorry, sorry. Just wanted to break the ice," the yellow-haired girl responded.

"It's alright, we'll talk during our stroll," Shay assured.

They walked in silence for the next few seconds.

"So what do you like to do?" Yang asked, starting the first question.

"I was an explorer of sorts, a hunter as well," Shay answered.

"A hunter? Care to explain?"

"Let's not delve too deep into personal history, what about you?" Shay asked.

The two continued to talk about each other, getting lost in the maze of hallways until nightfall, where Yang 'finally' found the ballroom.

 **-Nothing is true, everything is permitted-**

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang nearly yelled, falling onto her own sleeping mat while Ruby was in the middle of writing in a journal.

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though," Ruby said, not even bothering to look up.

"I know I do," Yang remarked, purring as she continued looking at all the guys in the room with their shirts off, doing things usual guys do. Her face blushed heavily and her jaw nearly dropped when she saw Shay as soon as he entered the room, without his own upper garb, it showed off the muscles that seemed to have covered his body, as well as the number of scars that he had endured in his lifetime. The only thing that he decided to wear above the waist were those two bracers on his wrists.

In short: Yang likey-likey!

Then she saw Jaune dressed in... footy pajamas. In short: Awkward, grimacing as Jaune waved at her.

Shay approached the sisters, Yang's body temperature increasing with each step he took.

"Hello Ruby, Yang," he said, nodding to the two.

"Um..." Yang tried to speak, but found that she was unable to as her own voice was caught in her throat.

"Hey Shay, what's up?"

"The ceiling," Shay answered. What an odd thing for Ruby to ask.

"I mean how are you?" she asked again, immune to Shay's looks as she didn't look up to see him.

"I'm fine, what are you writing?" he asked, kneeling down to their level.

"A letter to my friends back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going," Ruby responded.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Yang said, finally possessing the ability to talk, before being cut off by a pillow to the face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school, it's weird not knowing anyone here," Ruby nearly shouted.

"What about Jaune and I?" Shay asked.

"There you go! Plus two friends! That's a one-hundred percent increase," Yang tried cheering up her younger sister.

"I'm sure Weiss counts as a negative friend, just down to one now," Ruby replied, laying down on her back, looking directly at Shay. And just like Yang, it had the same effect, only slightly lesser; the inability to speak or make noises, other than adorable squeaking sounds as though she was trying to speak, along with blushing, although not quite as much as Yang.

"There's no such thing as negative friends. You just made two friends and one enemy," Yang said, taking another pillow to the face.

"I fail to see how that helped," Shay said, preparing his own sleeping mat. Yang removed the pillow, doing her best not to look at the muscled Templar again.

"Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you got friends all around you, you just haven't met them yet," Ruby's older sister replied.

 _Now why did that sound so familiar?_ Shay wondered sarcastically. He then heard the sound of a match striking, he looked up to see the same girl from before, reading a book.

"That girl..." Shay and Ruby said at the same time.

"You guys know her?" Yang asked.

"Not really, she saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything," she explained.

"Well, now's your chance," Yang said, standing up before grabbing Ruby's arm and dragging her along with her.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Ruby yelped, making noises as she struggled to get out of her sister's grasp.

Shay watched as the other girl looked up to see the two making their way to said girl, so he decided to join and investigate.

"Hellooooo! I believe you two may know each other?" Yang said, causing Shay to once again slap the center of his forehead with his palm.

"Aren't you the girl that exploded?" she asked.

"Actually, she didn't really expl-" Shay was about to explain, only to be cut off by Ruby.

"Uhh yeah! The name's Ruby! But you can call me crater... actually you can just call me Ruby," the red-haired girl said.

"Okay," she simply said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shay asked Yang and Ruby.

"I don't know, help us!" she hissed at the man.

"Fine. So, what's your name lass?"

She sighed and looked up at the three, doing her best not to be unnerved by the only guy in the group, "Blake."

"Well Miss Blake, I'm Shay. The yellow one is my associate Yang, Ruby's older sister," he motioned to the other girl, who pointed to herself as well.

"I like your bow," Yang blurted out. Shay finally realized that this was not going as planned.

"Thanks," she replied.

"It goes great with your... pajamas," the yellow girl continued to talk without thinking.

"Dammit Yang, what the hell are you doing?!" Shay whispered, giving her a slight look of annoyance.

"I don't know! We still need help!" Yang elbowed the man in the gut.

"Obviously!" Ruby joined into the conversation.

"Right," Blake said, not bothering to look up from her book.

"Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book," Blake looked up at the two girls, who were still not getting the message, causing Shay to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"That I will continue to read," the message still went over their heads.

"As soon as you leave," Blake finished, looking back down at her book.

"Seems obvious she wants to be left alone," Shay wondered sarcastically, earning a slug to the shoulder by Yang's knuckles.

"Mm hmm," Blake confirmed, still reading from her unnamed book.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Your book, does it have a name?"

"It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control of his body," Blake explained, looking up at Ruby.

"Oh yeah, that's... real lovely," Yang replied nervously, trying to get out of the conversation. But to Shay, it sounded like an interesting book to read, he may have to ask her for recommendations later.

"I love books. Yang used to used to read me every night before bed. Stories of heroes, monsters, they're one of the reasons I wanted to be a Huntress," Ruby said.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake quipped.

"I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves," Shay listened to Ruby's answer. He was starting to think of an answer as to why Ruby had those crosses on her now.

But it was highly unlikely that the Templars existed in Remnant. He would've known.

"That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale," Blake explained in the same neutral tone that she used since she came to Beacon.

"Well that's why we're here. To make it better," Ruby responded innocently.

"Ooh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang yelled, smothering her sister in a bear hug while picking her up at the same time.

"Cut it out!" Ruby yelled. Shay stepped back immediately as the two engaged in a rather violent fistfight, tossing up a cloud of dust. Only things he managed to see were legs and arms hitting flesh.

"Well, Ruby, Yang, Shay... it's a pleasure to-"

"What in the world is going on over here!? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?!" Shay froze, his hands flicking back in instinct, revealing his hidden blades as he heard the voice of the one and only Ice Queen: Weiss. Blake caught sight of the Templar's concealed weapons, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh not you again!" Yang and Weiss yelled simultaneously.

"Force of habit," Shay grinned meekly, sheathing his blades back into their original spots.

"Right," Blake drew out the 'right' before going back to her book. Shay then caught sight of the bow on her head twitching, as though in annoyance. He frowned and narrowed his eyes before going back to his sleeping mat, laying down on it and pulling the blanket close to himself.

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby said.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss replied sarcastically.

"I was always on your side!" the red-haired girl yelled. Shay watched as Blake merely rolled her eyes, got up, and left from the seemingly futile conversation.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang defended.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss accused, about to yell at Ruby some more before her hand quickly went to her neck, her eyes widened, wincing as she did so.

The alabaster girl suddenly collapsed, snoring quietly as her face hit the floor.

"Wow, I've never seen someone talk themselves to sleep," Yang observed.

"Truly a mystery," Shay muttered. Blake glared at the man as he put away the air rifle that he hid under his blanket, but decided to ignore it anyway.

"So... should we just leave her here or-"

"Let's just put her back in her own mat," Yang said, picking up the rather lightweight girl.

"Umm, do we even know where she sleeps?" Ruby asked.

"Look for the mat that looks the most expensive," Shay advised before turning over onto the other side and closing his eyes.

So now this day comes to an end. Shay had met the most unusual group of people in an even more unusual world.

Ruby, in his eyes, was naive, friendly, and very childish, but her own objective to becoming a Huntress is rather crystal clear, to protect the people, which was something he could easily get used to. Yang was... good, in a way; they had recently became friends after the library, but he had yet to see the rest of her own nature. As for Weiss, _Jesus Christ!_ She seemed to be the polar (pun intended) opposite of Ruby; rather than being childish or naive, she looked as though she was trying to come off as more mature than the rest of them, but had an obnoxious tendency to do so, it would take time for them to actually get acquainted with one another without having to go after their own throats. His new friend Jaune was also like Ruby: naive, but slightly less childish, but that seemed to come from his own both his age and family bloodline, Shay thought. Finally, Blake, who had an enigmatic air surrounding her. He knew nothing about her and yet wanted to get to know her better, as though they both shared similarities, but he didn't know what.

The Templar groaned in annoyance as he listened to Ruby and Yang's combined snoring literally a metre away. He sighed, digging into his pocket and pulling out a dart from his own miniature barrack. He lifted his arm, having to resort to desperate measures, then proceeded to jab the needle into his arm.

Shay felt the green solution coursing through his body as he drifted into a dreamless sleep. Not ready for what the next day had in store.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: So far so good. If you guys would like to make any requests on ideas, pairings, or some shit like that, I'm all ears. Literally, I got the drafts, but most of this is changed and/or improvised.**

 **I'll see you later in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4: Initiation

**Q &A:**

 **Rook435: No, Shay will not be a teacher. Shay reverted to that of a teenager-Shay, so even if Ozpin were to hear of his history and (hypothetically) believed him, it would still be against the rules, no matter how many strings he is able to pull to change such rules. **

**Guest (anonymo):** **I'm not going to spoil any of that just yet, you'll have to wait and see.**

 **mather5011:** **I will try to upload more chapters weekly, but I can't promise that I will be able upload at the exact time. And yes, I am dedicated to seeing this fic through and through.**

 **King** **Edgar: Fortunately, no one saw him. Also, no harem (but nice suggestion though *trollface*).**

* * *

 **I do not own Assassin's Creed or RWBY, otherwise this would be a game, not a fanfic.**

 _"What'd I miss?"_

 _"Only the first hour of training."_

 _"A pity, the boy has so much potential, but so little discipline."_

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
** **5:19 AM  
** **Unknown Time**

Shay had found out that he woke up earlier than the rest of the students, aside from Blake, who seemed as though she had been up hours after, which was no surprise. The Templar rose from his mat and looked out the window, the sun was barely up over the horizon.

"You're up early," Blake observed, reading from her book some more. Shay took note that she was dressed in the same attire as yesterday, meaning that she had already gotten ready for the day.

"A wise man once told me, 'Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise'," he quoted from a close associate of his. Benjamin Franklin was always good at making quotes such as that one, but the genius of a man had died before Shay could meet him again.

"Sounds like a smart guy," she responded with a face adorning amusement, looking up to see the young man. Her face turning a bit pinker as she looked at him more and more.

"He was an inventor as well, but that's not the point," Shay said, walking out to the bathroom to brush his teeth with the toothbrush that Ozpin had provided for him.

Shay ran the brush under the sink, watching as the water washed over the small object, the former Assassin was now getting more used to the technology of this world. He stared into the mirror, and the same brash and reckless young man that he had been before Lisbon stared back. He frowned as he spit out the saliva and plaque that had been stuck to his teeth, grimacing at the dark colored goop in the sink that he had never noticed all this time.

He turned the water off after cleaning his toothbrush and putting it away, instead walking to the lockers. He input the code that was, once again, given by Professor Ozpin. Inside the locker was the rest of his clothes and weapons, unlike the others, who had put their clothes in a chest or a separate locker. Shay slipped on his socks and boots, shirt and coat, picking up the Bastard Sword that he had found at the Fort. He sheathed his sword and dagger in their respected sheathes, putting his pistols in their holsters, the knives and ammunition in his pouches, his air rifle in his- wait a minute.

The Templar did a double take as he stared deeper into the locker, looking at the spot where his air rifle was left; he had retired the weapon to his locker after the.. incident with Weiss. He slowly moved the locker door to the side, getting a better look at it's condition. The locker door looked as though someone took an axe and tried to pry it open in the most gentlest way possible, while failing on the definition of 'gentlest'.

Shay's left eye twitched in irritation as he spun on his heels and walked back into the ballroom, quickly loading a pistol with black powder.

"Hey, what're you-" Blake was about to ask what Shay was about to do with the pistol, until he raised it above his head and fired at the ceiling.

The effect was immediate, some people stirred slowly while others ended up screaming as they jolted awake. Blake's hands immediately shot to her bow, grasping it tightly as she glared at him with a pained and angered expression, doing her best not to scream with the rest of the students.

"EVERYBODY UP!" Shay roared, some of the children shot straight up while others were still trying to get on their feet, "If you don't want to hear another shot, then I suggest HURRYING THE FUCK UP!" the rest of the students stood up immediately after his last declaration.

"Good. _Ahem_ , for those that don't know, my name is Shay Cormac, and I must ask each and every one of you a simple question," he observed some of the people standing in front of him, most were glaring at him while the rest gave him a nervous look.

"Just now, I discovered that a personal item of mine, a certain rifle, has gone missing from my locker. I am not usually a man of forgiveness, but if you speak up now, I will hold no ill will towards you," he spoke, waiting for someone to admit to the thievery.

But he was only presented with a short bout of silence.

Shay merely sighed, "I wanted to do this the easy, I really did. But if we must do this the hard way-" he pulled out another flintlock pistol, this time loading a bullet into the chamber, pulling back the hammer and pointing it at the group of students, who tensed up in fear.

"-Then I am not afraid of making a mess," Shay spat at the students, he then looked at Ruby and Jaune, who tensed up at his harsh glare.

"Ruby and Jaune, to the side of the room," he commanded in a cold voice.

"But-"

"Just do it!" he yelled, earning a fiery glare from Yang.

"Alright alright, sheesh," Jaune said, his arms raised above his head as the two moved to the right wall of the ballroom.

"That wall over there is for those that I think did not take my weapon," he looked at the group again, turning around to Yang's sleeping mat and kicking over the blankets, nothing.

"Yang, to the wall," Yang sighed in relief as she made her way to the corner, embracing her sister because of this assumed madman's devilish scheme.

"Forgive me Yang, but I had to make sure that you would not intrude on my belongings," Shay then turned to Weiss, " _Miss_ Schnee, you are safe as well."

"I already know you loathe me, so why still assume that I'm safe?" she asked with a half-suspicious, half-concerned tone in her voice.

"Although you are a frighteningly accurate representation of the saying: ' _All that glitters is not gold'_ , I do not take you for a thief. Now go," he pointed to the wall with his other hand, the one that was currently not holding the pistol, also not mentioning the fact that he hit her with a certain soporific projectile.

Weiss processed this backhanded compliment, glaring lightly at the straight-faced man as she finally made her way to the wall, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

This process of elimination went on for the next fifteen minutes, it involve asking the same single question before kicking over their sleeping mat to see if they were telling the truth. Now it was down to only three suspects.

"It's down to the three of you. Now, I make the same offer as before: confess, and we can leave with as minimal harm as possible," Shay offered for the last time, but the three continued to remain silent. The angered Templar now faced a smirking boy in the middle.

"What is your name?"

"Why do you wanna know?" he asked, cockiness was heavy within his voice.

"My pistol is also asking the same question as I, only it's not as patient as I am," Shay answered informatively.

"Cardin Winchester," the boy said, his sneer still plastered across his face.

"Now tell me, Mister Winchester. Why are you smiling? Do you think this is funny? Do I amuse you in some way?" he demanded, Shay then went to the last of the sleeping mattresses and kicked them over. In one of them laid his air rifle, undamaged, but still stolen.

Shay slung the rifle over his shoulder and onto his back, then turned to Cardin.

"Now Mister Winchester, explain to me why I just so happened to find my own weapon in your area?"

The boy only shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe it mysteriously grew legs and walked to my bed."

The Assassin Hunter chuckled lightly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, shaking it lightly in a painfully mocking manner.

"How funny, it would be curious if the nurse _mysteriously_ found you outside her office with a bloody hole in your shoulder," Shay grinned sadistically as he pointed the flintlock and pulled the trigger.

Almost everyone closed their eyes and covered their ears, the rest nearly bolted after the crazy man before he could do any more damage.

 ***Click!***

They all turned to hear the source of the noise, which came from Shay's pistol.

"Curious, it seems that I forgot to load the pistol with powder as well. Silly me."

Cardin breathed a sigh of relief, only to fall back to the ground with a bloody nose as Shay's forehead connected with said nose.

"Aauugh! Son of a-" Cardin tried to yell, only to be cut off by the Templar.

"Let this be a lesson to you, if not everyone. Do not steal, especially from me. Understand?" Shay pointed a lecturing finger to everyone who quickly nodded.

"Good. Ah, it seems that you have an extra hour of sleep, I wouldn't waste it if I were you," he leered.

After the confrontation was over, Shay felt the glare of almost everyone in the room, but he paid no mind of it.

Besides, hell hath no fury like an angry Irishman.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

Shay found himself eating breakfast along with the rest of the students as soon as they woke up again after his outburst from the loss of his special firearm. He looked down at his plate, while other students received more delectable treats like pancakes or donuts, he had chosen a moderate breakfast of eggs and bacon.

The Templar ate in silence, watching as a black-haired (with a purple stripe) man opposite of him was being talked to nonstop by a girl with light orange hair.

All the other students were busy with their own lives at the moment. Ruby and her sister were conversing, while Weiss and Blake ate in silence, although nearly on the opposite sides of the room. As for the Templar? It seemed everyone was afraid of him, so they gave him as much 'breathing room' as possible.

"So... good morning Shay," he heard Jaune walk over and sit down next to him.

"Likewise, Jaune," Shay mumbled.

"How's your day so far?" Jaune asked, then stopped himself as he realized what exactly he just asked.

"Fine. Wait... did I go a little too far with my own anger?" the Templar asked the blonde-haired boy.

"Well... yeah, but at least you didn't hurt anyone, _much_ I mean," he answered, staring down at his own bowl of cereal.

"So besides that unfortunate occurrence, what should we talk about?" Shay finally asked after several seconds of silence, still eating his breakfast.

"Who do want to team up with if you had to choose?" Jaune wondered.

"I would have to say you and Ruby, but as for a fourth, I am not sure."

"Huh, maybe we'll see soon," the blonde-haired boy thought aloud, his eyes trailing to a certain white-haired girl, also causing Shay to sigh in disappointment.

The two then conversed for several minutes until the rest of the students had finished their meals.

After breakfast was finished, they then moved onto the locker rooms, where they retrieved their weapons. But because Shay had them on hand now, he decided to stand around and listen to the conversations around him.

"-Can you imitate a sloth?" Shay heard in the middle of a conversation.

"Nora?" one of the students asked, the same black-haired boy wearing green.

"Yes, Ren?" 'Nora' asked her friend.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," he answered, a pair of green spiked guns retracted into his sleeves. Shay raised an eyebrow at the scene, this 'Ren' managed to one-up his hidden blades, it was actually quite impressive.

Nora looked at him, trying to think of something to say until: "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

The young man only shut his locker, "Come on Nora, let's go."

Shay watched as the couple walked off, passing by Ruby and Yang in the process.

"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?" the younger girl wondered.

"Who know? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning. Despite _someone's_ rude interruption," Yang said, shooting a glare at Shay, who only pointed to himself and gave a look of mock surprise, causing the yellow-haired young lady to roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Yup, no more small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby replied, picking up her folded scythe and hugging it as if it were a child. What is it with this world's obsession with their own weapons?

"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together," Yang advised her younger sister, who only proceeded to groan in frustration.

"You sound like dad!" Ruby put her weapon back in her locker, "Okay, first of all: what does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up, I drink milk!"

...What?

"What about when we form teams?"

"Um... I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something," the younger replied nervously.

Shay walked away from the conversation and went over to the older red-haired girl.

"Good morning," he said.

"Right, _good_ morning," she stared at him with a slight look of irritation.

"I was angry and tired, forgive me for my outburst."

"All right, I guess I can let it slide," she looked away, focusing more on her locker.

"By the way, I never got your name because of Ozpin's speech," Shay said, leaning on the locker beside her own.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos. Shay, was it?"

" _Corriger, Mademoiselle Nikos,_ " the Templar said, remembering some form of words that he picked up during his 'business trip' in France.

"Never say that again," Pyrrha said, rolling her eyes at his own form of light teasing.

"What? Is it the accent?" Shay asked in mock curiosity, Pyrrha nodded, which was no surprise to him. Imagine that, a 'cabbage farmer' speaking French!

"Alright, I won't do it again," he said, taking a step past her to walk away, watching as Weiss passed by, but the Ice Queen simply ignored him. He walked out of the locker room only to hear Jaune nearly yelling in panic.

Shay grinned and shook his head lightly, he continued to hear muffled dialogue behind him between Jaune, Weiss, and Pyrrha until he heard a sharp *ping*! Prompting the young Templar to turn around and look at what happened, only to see Jaune hanging by his hood, a spear having run it through into a nearby wall. Shay groaned in shame as he turned around and continued walking through the halls until he heard another voice ring throughout the halls.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately," the voice of Goodwitch resonated throughout the school. As Shay did not know where this Beacon Cliff was, he decided to follow the other students ahead of him, breaking into a sprint to catch up with the rest of them.

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin said to the students, holding a mug of coffee in his hands. The Templar wondered if this man could simply survive on pure coffee.

These first-year students were on the edge of a cliff, standing on white and grey platforms in front of the Headmaster and Miss Goodwitch.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"What? Oh..." Shay turned his head to see Ruby with a pained look on her face.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," Shay listened as Ruby gave out another pained, but somehow quiet, cry.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

It was at that moment when Shay could hear all of Ruby's expectations shatter, almost literally.

"What!?" she yelled in panic.

"See, I told you," Nora said to her companion, Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die," Ozpin continued to inform his student, both he and Shay heard Jaune laugh nervously for only a second before gulping in fear.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not interfere. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune raised his hand, "Yeah um, sir?"

"Good, now take your positions," Ozpin ignored the blonde-haired boy.

Shay observed as the students made some sort of pose for each one of them, so he decided to do the same. He planted his right foot forward, his knee bent out with his left behind in a similar fashion, he finally held out his hands in the event that something should happen.

"Uh sir? I got... a question," Shay heard a loud creaking sound as he turned to see Weiss launched off the platform and into the air.

The Templar gulped in fear, this would be just as bad as the time Ruby launched themselves up to a building just to chase after Torchwick, if not worse than that incident.

"So, this landing... strategy thing, uh what is it? You're like, dropping us off or something?" Jaune asked.

"No, you will be falling," Ozpin simply answered.

Shay watched as several more students launch off the platform.

No, this will be much worse than the building incident.

"Oh, I see... so, did you like, hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy," Ozpin continued to answer the boy's questions, albeit not fully.

"Uh huh, yeah," Jaune said, Shay looked to his left to see Ruby and Yang next to him, the yellow-haired girl winking at the both of them, only she seemed more... _comfortable_ with winking at Shay, putting on her sunglasses and was then launched off the platform, shortly followed by Ruby.

Shay prepared himself for what was to come.

"So what exactly is a landing strategyYYY!" Jaune finished the rest of his sentence with the last letter being drawn out as he and Shay were launched into the air.

Shay felt the platform press against his boots, eager to lift the young man to his assumed doom, feeling the rush of wind quickly pull him through the air.

"SON OF A BIIIIIIITCH!" Shay couldn't help but scream in terror as he was continually propelled through the sky. This was something he had experienced once, though on a smaller scale, and he did not want to experience it a second time.

He just hoped this wouldn't happen a third time.

After several seconds, he managed to clear his head and take notice of his surroundings. The rest of the students looked coordinated and prepared in the event that they should land.

Shay continued to watch as the forest got closer and closer. He had to quickly formulate a plan so he could survive this impending disaster.

Maybe he could aim for the branches. To grab hold? To slow his fall? Maybe he could roll at the last second, but the odds of survival seemed impossible in this case, or any case at this point.

The Templar couldn't do anything but watch as the trees finally reached him.

The last thing he felt was pain, blacking out immediately after.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 _"Hello Shay," he heard a voice say to the Templar._

 _The man opened his eyes to find himself in a pitch black area, in front of him stood Pluto._

 _"So, I'm dead now?" Shay asked the Precursor._

 _"No, not yet. Maybe several more minutes before brain damage sets in."_

 _"How long have I been out so far?"_

 _"Two minutes," Pluto stated._

 _"Really? Well in that case, should I start preparing for my arrival for the next world you'll choose?" Shay said before feeling his own imaginary world shake, causing him to fall over._

 _"I wouldn't do that, it seems that someone is trying to wake you up. Oh my... it seems I'll have to remember the look on your face the moment you wake up," Pluto laughed._

 _"What wh-"_

 _"Goodbye," Plute replied quickly as he snapped his fingers._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 _"Come on, wake up!"_ Shay heard a voice say to him as he felt consciousness begin to greet him. Who was this person?

 _"Wake up! We'll die if you don't,_ _"_ Shay groaned in pain as the voice spoke once more.

 _"Ugh, you're heavy,"_ he heard the voice again, but his mind was still groggy at the time, so he did not recognize the voice.

Now Shay had woken up to several strange incidents: waking up after falling off a cliff after being shot, waking up to the blue purgatory after falling off a small pillar of ice after a quarrel with his former friend Liam (let's just assume he has fallen off a lot of things, which resulted in him waking up in strange and/or unfortunate incidents.)

But never has Shay ever woken up to a pair of soft, _**female** _ lips pressed against his own, with Shay's mouth open and the feeling of warm air seeping into his lungs.

The young man quickly opened his eyes, turned on his back and immediately vomited a large quantity of water from his lungs and stomach. His clothes were soaking wet and his mind was buzzing, but he was now fine nonetheless. He looked over to see that someone had pulled him out of a small pond. Apparently he had crashed into the tree branches, which had knocked him out, and landed into the pond below, which may have saved him, but also may have killed him if he was not saved in time.

He was about to turn and thank his apparent savior. But he found himself staring into pale blue eyes, the face that these eyes belonged to possessed immaculate white skin with white hair tied to the side in a ponytail, a small tiara topping it off.

Weiss Schnee.

The two stared at each other for only a few seconds, he watched as Weiss' face turned pink for only a second.

"Ugh... I never thought I would ever wake up to a pretty face in my eyes," Shay groaned as he clutched his head in pain, only to feel the white-dressed girl roughly push him back onto the ground.

"Shut up, this changes nothing," Weiss huffed as she crossed her arms.

"I beg to differ. You saved my life, and for that I am thankful," he said, standing up on his own, offering his hand for her, but she decided to stand up on her own.

"What are you trying to say?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What I'm saying is that this can turn into what appears to be a beautiful friendship-" the Templar unslung his air rifle, loaded a grenade and pointed behind her, firing the explosive projectile at a Grimm behind her, causing the creature to stumble back and roar.

He put away his rifle and unsheathed his sword and dagger.

"-Or the word 'partners' can mean something more than just friends," he grinned mischievously.

Weiss only rolled her eyes as she pushed past him, standing back-to-back. Her rapier unsheathed and in her left hand, pointed upward but slightly towards the monsters that surrounded the two.

"In your dreams. Besides, I was already partnered up with Ruby when I found you, so the chances of you and me wouldn't work," she said.

"Huh, how sad. As for introductions, as we never really formally met. My name's Shay Cormac," Shay responded.

"Very. I'm Weiss Schnee, although you already know that," Weiss said, readying herself for the fight, the dial on her sword spun before landing on a certain dust slot.

Shay couldn't tell if that last piece of dialogue was because of vanity's sake or because Shay had heard Blake say her name earlier.

"So... am I a good kisser?" Shay smirked as he tried to hold in a laugh.

"Shut up," Weiss said, her face turning a slight shade of red.

Shay heard her rush towards her opponents, eager to strike and finish them off quickly. The Templar raised his own sword as he ran towards the demonic black beasts.

He then quickly heard an explosion from afar, but he had no time to look. Shay quickly ducked under the strike of a Beowolf before impaling it in the neck with his sword, watching as it disintegrated seconds later.

"Hey watch it!" he heard a familiar voice say: Ruby.

"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn, I could've killed you!"

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..." Ruby muttered.

Shay looked at the two for only a second before being thrown back by another creature of Grimm.

"Now this conversation is nice and all, but I think we should leave," Shay groaned as he stood up, pulling out a smoke bomb and tossing it at his feet, the bomb erupted, covering the three in a cloud of smoke as they began to retreat. A flaming tree nearly fell on the trio as they continued to escape from the large group of Grimm.

The three still ran as fast as they could from the area until Shay could only see smoke in the distance. Weiss was already drained from the experience of nearly dying.

"What was that?! That should've been easy!" Ruby yelled.

"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"

The youngest of the three scoffed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just surprised someone who talks so _much_ would communicate so _little_ during an encounter," Weiss said.

"She's got a point, Ruby. It seemed that she could've done fine," Shay entered the conversation.

He really wished he didn't now.

"What're you talking about?" Ruby glared at him.

"Oh now you're on my side as well?" Weiss perfectly mimicked Ruby's glare in intensity.

"I was never on a _side,_ I only assisted those that were in trouble, such as Ruby. But now is not the moment to talk," Shay said, quickly turning and walking away from the two girls.

"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!" they continued to yell.

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!" Weiss said, following behind Shay.

The two older students did nothing but hear Ruby shriek in frustration, her scythe transforming, and the sound of a tree falling violently.

 **-Nothing is true, Everything is permitted-**

Glynda Goodwitch found the Headmaster standing at the edge of the cliff, as though he was watching the students progress through the forest.

"The last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos," she said, looking through the cameras on her Scroll.

Ozpin merely hummed in thought in response to what she had said earlier.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat. As for our other new student, Mister Cormac, he has not received a partner, yet he is able to fare with many students, including Jaune, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss. I am not sure how we should proceed with this odd man out, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you used for relics this year?" she asked the Headmaster, but he was lost in thought at the moment, watching the trio of two girls and the Templar.

"Professor Ozpin?" Miss Goodwitch asked again, but Ozpin turned around to face the woman.

"Give me a moment, Glynda. I may have a rather unorthodox solution to our problem with Shay," he said, prompting Glynda to raise an eyebrow in suspicion before turning around and walking back to the academy.

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

Shay continued walking ahead of the two, his rifle in both of his hands loaded with a sleep dart and shrapnel grenade. Weiss was following him as though he knew where he was going, while Ruby was following close behind the two.

"So... how _did_ you get into Beacon?" Weiss decided to strike up a conversation, the same way Ruby would. It seemed the heiress really was lonely, given that she was now talking to the person who had taken her side at the time.

"Now's not the best time to talk, if you want to talk to someone, speak with Ruby," Shay replied both bluntly and harshly, his hands digging into another smoke bomb.

"Hey, I was just asking a-" Weiss was interrupted by the sound of a bomb going off, the area was temporarily covered in smoke as well as causing the two girls to cough loudly at the smoke that had now filled their lungs. When the place was clear, Weiss found that Shay was no longer there. Instead, she was now alone with Ruby, who had finally plopped herself onto the grass.

"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Weiss screamed in fury at the top of her lungs.

Unbeknownst of the two, Shay actually had a compass within his own personal inventory. The Templar had been free-running through the trees, following north towards the temple. Shay knew that the two girls would have to get along eventually, so he decided to leave so they could sort the problem out by themselves. With no third party to say their opinion and no neutral ground to tip to another's favor.

Shay continued his run through the branches of the trees, weaving around the trunks and balancing on it's branches. He activated his Vision, trying to see if their was anyone or anything below him that he could not see. The Templar continued scanning the ground until he caught sight of Yang and Blake walking through the forest in his direction, he quietly stalked after the two, as though they were already on the right track.

But this was short-lived as he heard a whoosh of air, it only took him a half-second to see a... black rope dart come flying towards him. He quickly dodged the speeding object as it embedded itself into the tree trunk behind him. He took out one of his own rope darts and tossed it at the girl, only to watch as she caught it in midair.

"Shay."

"Blake."

"And Yang!" Yang said, stepping between the two, who were silently shaking their heads at her.

"Not good?" she smiled meekly.

"Definitely."

"Never do that again," Shay responded, jumping off the tree and landing on his feet in front of the two young women.

"Impressive," Blake commented

"Ten out of ten for handsome over here," Yang winked playfully at him, but he only brushed the dirt off of his clothes and frowned at the girl.

"Is it really a good time to do such a thing at the moment?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she stepped closer to him before walking around him and towards the temple, Blake catching up to her, Shay decided to follow behind until they reached the Temple ruins.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked, but Blake only gave her a look before walking closer to the ruins.

Shay walked ahead of them to find that these relics were actually chess pieces.

"Chess pieces?" Blake observed, confused by the sight.

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here," Yang concluded.

"Well, I guess we should pick one," Blake guessed, looking at the set of pieces.

Shay picked one up and studied it: the White Knight, a black smudge covered a small portion of it's figure. He grimaced at it, but it seemed to have suited him. The Assassins saw themselves as the white, but it was Lisbon that tainted his views; but the Templars were not afraid to do dirty work, to do what must be done to secure a better future, that is why he sided with them, because they knew that the ends would justify the means, that in the end, peace would be established and the people would be happy.

"Hey Shay, where's your partner?" Yang asked the man.

"Don't have one, but I met a fortunate encounter with Miss Schnee, had she not saved me, I would've died," Shay explained.

"What happened?"

"I fell into a pond and nearly drowned during my unconsciousness," a small grin began to creep upon the Templar's face.

"And... how did she save you?" Yang asked, slowly starting to realize what he was talking about.

Shay made his way over to the girl and whispered in her ear.

"If I tell you, promise to use this to tease her for the end of her days," Shay whispered.

"Now that's something I can get used to," Yang smirked.

"Alright. Miss Schnee decided to resuscitate me with a medical method appropriately named 'mouth-to-mouth', which she performed in absolute succession," Shay answered her previous question in oddly specific detail.

Yang's eyes widened to the size of saucers, trying to find something to say, did a quadruple-take, and only managed to stare at the man, her mouth agape.

"What happened?" Blake asked.

As soon as Blake asked, Yang immediately burst out laughing, falling onto the ground, tears streaming from her eyes as she continued to have her fits of giggles.

"I-I can't- ahahahahaha! (GASP), I can't-I can't breathe (tries to catch her breath) It's- pfft hahahahahahaha! It's just priceless. This is gold, Shay, This is platinum worthy! You deserve a medal for telling me this," Yang cheered on the Templar, who only mock bowed in appreciation.

But that was not all. Shay knelt down and decided to tell Yang what he asked Weiss as soon as she assisted him, causing her to shriek with laughter once more.

"Hahahahahahaha, this is too much Shay! I feel like- hehe, (WHEEZE!) I-I think I'm good, I think I'm good," Yang finished, her legs buckling from the amount of laughter that her lungs managed to squeeze from her body.

The blonde-haired beauty picked up one of the pieces after recovering from her bouts of laughter.

"What about a cute little pony?" she asked, raising the piece above her head for Blake and Shay to see.

"Sure," Blake grinned as they walked towards the center, right in front of Shay.

"That wasn't too hard," Yang said.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find," Blake and Yang grinned at their observation, but Shay had the feeling something bad was about to happen, like some higher being knew that when conflict was over, another problem would arise.

His answer came in the form of an explosion and a rather girlish scream, he looked up to see a faint figure of Jaune flying in the distance, as though he had stepped on another platform. At the same time, he watched as Ruby fell from some unknown means, watching as her direction was redirected by Jaune's own, the two ended up landing in a tree.

"Did that really just happen? Did your sister really fall from the sky?" Shay asked the older sibling.

"I-"

A creature of Grimm, an Ursa, appeared from the forest, but something was off. It's claws were swiping at the air, as though it was trying to fight off an invisible force, but a small explosion and pink light appeared from it's back, it fell to reveal Nora, who then stepped off the creature's back.

"Aww, it's broken," she said, Ren also stepped off the creature as well.

"Nora! Please... don't ever do that again," Ren said, but the girl had already disappeared. Shay flinched at the sudden disappearance of Nora, he didn't even take his eyes off of her and she managed to disappear in less than the blink of an eye.

"I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!" Shay turned to see that she was balancing a white rook on her head.

"Nora!" Ren yelled, Nora stopped, the rook falling into her hand, saluted the man and skipped to her friend's side.

"Coming, Ren!"

"Did-did she just ride on a Grimm?" Shay asked incredulously.

"I-" Yang tried to say, but was cut off by a roar and an explosion.

Shay watched as Pyrrha began running from a new type of Grimm, resembling that of a scorpion, but had eyes filled with hollowed rage. He continued observing her dodge and weave through the creature's claws.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled.

Shay heard a quiet thump, he turned to see Ruby land beside them.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled.

"Nora!" Nora yelled, knocking the other two away from one another.

Shay took the time to unholster his pistols, the powder was finally dry enough to actually use in a fight, but did not point them at the oversized demonic scorpion just yet.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked. So that's what this form of Grimm was called: Death Stalker.

Shay turned to see Yang trying to visibly hold in her frustration, but he could tell this was not going to be good.

" **I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS?!** " Yang screamed as she was literally surrounded in flames, her eyes changing from violet to red.

Two seconds past, Ren finally caught up with the rest of the group.

"Umm, Yang?" Ruby said, tugging at her sisters sleeve and pointing towards the sky.

"Jesus Christ," Shay whispered, looking up to see a giant bird Grimm. Wolves, bears, scorpions, now birds!? This was bullshit!

Even worse, Weiss was hanging onto one of the claws.

"How can you leave me!" he faintly heard from the alabaster heiress.

"I said 'jump'!" Ruby yelled.

"She's gonna fall," Blake said.

"She'll be fine," Ruby assured.

"She's falling," Ren concluded.

Shay could only watch in comic horror as Jaune caught the falling girl, only to realize that they both were still falling, their weapons even leaving their sheathes to make it look even more ridiculous. The Assassin Hunter watched as Jaune landed on his face with a sickening crunch, only to be repeated as Weiss landed on his back.

"My hero," Weiss said mockingly.

"My back," Jaune whimpered painfully.

The Templar heard another sound of pain as Pyrrha landed in front of them. Well, landed is an overstatement, more like 'was thrown after being hit by a Death Stalker'.

"Great! The gang's all here, now we can die together," Yang yelled out sarcastically.

"Not if I can help it," Ruby said, charging towards the Death Stalker, uttering a rather adorable battle cry.

"Ruby, no!" Shay yelled, taking aim at the Death Stalker.

But it was too late, she was already hit with the scorpion's pincers, flinging her backwards onto the grass.

"Do-don't worry, totally fine!" she said, firing at the Grimm once before retreating, folding her scythe back into it's more harmless state. Shay had to give it to her, she was rather tough, but bullheaded all the same.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, running towards her sister, Shay following close behind, besides, this was the first friend he made when he entered into this world.

The airborne Grimm let loose a volley of feathers from it's wings, and was still able to maintain it's flight stability. The feathers all managed to miss Ruby, all but her cape, which was then impaled by one of the feathers, leaving her stuck to that spot. The feathers continued to impale themselves into the ground, Shay barely managed to push Yang out of the way of an oncoming feather arrow, cutting one of his own arms in the process.

"Get out of there, Ruby!" Shay yelled, falling over onto his side and grimacing as he applied pressure to his now-bleeding arm. Another battle wound to add to his list: subdued by a demon bird, oh how the afterlife would laugh at him if he died from such a minor wound despite the amount of punishment that he had endured in his lifetime.

"I'm trying!" Ruby cried out, Shay felt a rush of wind pass by, watching as a white figure sped to Ruby at incredible speeds. This white figure summoned a wall of ice to protect Ruby from an approaching Death Stalker stinger.

"You're so childish!" he heard from the girl, he averted his eyes from his wound to look at the Heiress.

"Weiss?"

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer," Weiss continued to berate the poor girl before calming down.

"I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this," Ruby said.

"You're fine," Weiss walked away from the girl, walking over to Shay, peering over at his bleeding arm.

"Need help?" she asked the hurt man, who nodded hesitantly. She removed a small white pouch, which was filled with some grey-ish powder upon opening it.

"Lift your sleeve," she commanded, Shay did so, revealing a long seven-inch cut along his left arm. Weiss took a small handful of the powder and sprinkled it onto his wound.

After several seconds, the wound began to close, forming a rather intricate scar on his arm.

"Thank you, Weiss," Shay said, he looked up to see Weiss holding out her hand.

"Go ahead and take it, I'm only going to do this once," she smirked lightly. Shay looked down at his wound, then up at her hand before grabbing it, watching as Weiss managed to pull the large man up with every ounce of strength she had in her body.

"Dust, you're heavy," she exhaled, putting away the pouch.

"Once again, I owe you my life," he bowed slightly before picking up his pistols and holstering them. He was right, she actually could change her attitude. Although he couldn't forgive her previous actions, she had his thanks.

The two walked back to the rest of the group, followed by Ruby and Yang.

"Guys? That thing's circling back, what're we gonna do?" Jaune asked the rest of the group.

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us," Weiss motioned to the chess pieces.

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things," Ruby explained.

"Live to fight another day, that is an appropriate option," Shay pointed out.

"That's an idea I can get behind," Jaune said. The two made their way to the ruins to pick up their own relics.

The Templar turned around to see the Death Stalker beginning to break from it's ice prison.

"Time we left," Ren said.

"Right, let's go," Ruby looked to the rest of the group, who had now been following her, all except for Yang, Blake, and Shay.

"What is it?" Shay asked, seeing as Yang had a strange smile on her face.

"Nothing," Yang said, running to the rest of the group, followed by the Templar and Blake.

The group continued running deeper into the ruins, aware of the Grimm that flew above them, perching itself on the center column, screeching loudly.

Shay had his air rifle on his hands, now a firecracker and a shrapnel grenade in both the rifle barrel and the grenade stock.

The students ran to cover behind several stone columns.

"Just great," Shay muttered at the Grimm that had blocked their path.

"Oh man, run!" Jaune said, pointing to the Death Stalker that had broken free and followed them throughout the retreat.

"Shit!" Shay said, breaking into a sprint as he ran from the large scorpion Grimm.

"Nora, distract it!" Ren said, pointing at the large black bird.

Shay heard several explosions as he ran closer to the ruins, he looked up to see several pink grenades explode around the demon bird. He looked behind him to see the scorpion behind him blocking the way that they had escaped. He looked to his left to see the bird about to crash into the bridge, causing the man to run harder before part of the bridge crumbled as the giant demon raven barreled into the bridge.

The force pushed the Templar onto his stomach, dazing him slightly, but his mind was clear enough for him to see that Jaune was slipping and was on the verge of falling into the grey abyss.

"No, please help me!" Jaune yelled, his hands gradually slipping. Shay reacted quickly by standing back up and running to assist the young man, he picked out a throwing knife from his belt and threw it into the man's sleeve with pinpoint accuracy, the knife stuck itself into the cracked stone, managing to barely save Jaune's life.

Shay grabbed Jaune by the arm and hoisted him to the top of the bridge, removing the knife and putting it back into his assortment of weapons after the young man was saved.

"Thanks Shay," he said, standing back up on his feet.

"Anytime, my friend," Shay said. The Assassin Hunter watched as the other three fought against the scorpion, then looked up to see the bird circling around after them. Shay then looked at his air rifle, then back at Jaune, formulating a quick, imprecise plan in his head.

"Jaune, I'm going to need you to take this. Do you know how to use it?" Shay asked, removing the firecrackers from the barrel and replacing it with Sleep Darts, he handed Jaune the rifle, along with several shrapnel grenades.

"I think so, just point and fire, right?" Jaune said, looking down at the weapon and it's ammunition.

"More or less, but I think it would be better in your hands at the moment. Nora?" Shay looked to the girl next to them.

"Yeah?"

"Those three need your help, think you two can handle it?" Shay asked her.

"You got it, person-who's-name-I-don't know!" she saluted the man, her grenade launcher suddenly shifting and turning into a hammer.

"It's Shay Cormac, now get over there!" he yelled, turning away to assist the other three.

"Um Nora, I don't think we can make this ju- aaaahhh!" he yelled as Nora slammed the hammer into the edge of the bridge, catapulting the boy into the air. Nora stood on the edge of the hammer and fired, sailing through the sky on her grenade hammer, resulting in Jaune landing on the opposite end of the former bridge poorly, and Nora landing on the Death Stalker, hammer in hand and slamming it into it's exoskeleton.

The creature barely had a scratch on it, pushing Nora into Blake, causing the girl to fall from the bridge. Jaune managed to pick up Shay's rifle, firing a shrapnel grenade at the creature, the metal bits embedded itself into two of it's eyes, causing it to hiss angrily.

Shay watched as Blake used her makeshift ropedart/spike gun and ribbon to attach itself to one of the rocks, using her momentum to swing onto the Grimm, unleashing a flurry of slashes she ran down the monster's back and onto the tower with the rest of the girls (and guy).

"It's tougher than it looks," Blake explained.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got," Yang said.

"Best plan I've heard all day," Shay remarked, removing his pistols from their holsters and firing at the damned bird, noticing as the girls transformed their close-combat weapons into their longer-ranged form and unleashing hell onto the Grimm.

But the Grimm was _much_ tougher than it looked, managing to resist the hail of fire as it crashed into the ruined temple, completely obliterating it.

"Little help, girls?!" he screamed. Ruby looked down to see Shay running with the rest of them.

She held out her hand, Shay did not hesitate to take her hand. She fired her scythe-rifle into the air, propelling both of them off broken slabs of pillars before Shay's hand slipped from the scythe, nearly falling to his death if Weiss hadn't activated a glyph at the right moment, propelling them into the air again, with Shay landing on his face.

 _Oh God, this is probably how Jaune feels on a daily basis,_ Shay thought painfully, managing to stand back up despite the pain in his everywhere.

"None of this is working!" he heard Weiss yell, he managed to shake the shock from his mind, looked at Ruby, who was studying the area around her.

"I have a plan, cover me!" Ruby yelled.

"Cover her, how- wait a minue," Shay said, looking at the remaining ranged weapons: his pistols and throwing knives. He quickly filled the pistols with a ball and powder each before firing at the Grimm, throwing several of his knives at the demon bird, and repeating the process.

"You seriously need new weapons," Weiss informed.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to ask Ozpin," Shay replied sarcastically, firing another pair of rounds at the bird; finally watching as Yang leapt at the bird, holding it's mouth open with one of her hands and firing several shots into it's mouth.

"I. Hope. You're. Hungry!" she yelled in between shots before jumping off the bird.

Shay watched as the Grimm perched itself onto the other end of the ruins, about to take off into the sky, he unsheathed a knife from his belt, flipped it until he held it by the blade, and tossed it as high as he can into the air with all the arm strength he could muster. The knife could've hit anywhere, the wings, the body. But Shay's experience with the terms of long-range made the knife stick itself into the creature's eye, causing it to screech in pain. Unfortunately, Yang caught sight of the act and decided to briefly ruin everyone's day for a few seconds.

" ** _Eye_** guess you can say it was **_knife_** to meet him!" Yang quipped, who then turned around and ran to the pillar on the right. This pun resulted in everyone presently around her to collectively groan at the girl's attempted humor.

Weiss sped by the both of them and cast an ice spell that held the monster's tail feathers in place. Blake fired her (ribbon?) gun at Yang, who caught it and stuck it into the second pillar, forming a sort of slingshot.

Ruby then fired her scythe onto the ribbon, the Templar finally confirmed that the plan, although completely mad, would work. He stood beside her as she was pulled back by Weiss.

"Of course you would come up with this idea," Weiss said.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, can I?"

"Can-"

"Of course I can!" Weiss snapped.

Ruby cocked her weapon, a shell escaped the barrel of the gun.

"Give that bastard Hell, Ruby," Shay encouraged the girl, who only nodded.

Shay could only whistle in awe as Ruby was violently launched from the makeshift slingshot, firing her rifle to gain more and more speed until she wrapped the blade around the creature's throat. He watched as Weiss raised her hand higher, creating a chain of glyphs along the cliff face, allowing Ruby to run up the wall, carrying the bird by the neck until she reached the top. He watched her quick ascent to the top, a quick pause in speed and the creature's head was severed from it's body.

Everyone in the ruins watched as the creature of Grimm descended from the cliff and into the dark below.

"Well, that was a thing," Yang broke the silence.

"Certainly," Shay said.

There was a shorter, but just as long, silence as they looked at Ruby from the top of the cliff.

"So... how do we get back to Beacon?" Weiss asked.

"We never planned that far ahead," Yang admitted.

"How about a bet: whoever makes it to the top of the cliff without their semblance last has to buy the rest of us lunch from the a la carte menu," Shay smirked, knowing full well that he had the advantage, but did not show it.

"But what if we fall?" Weiss asked.

"The rest of you possess aura, I do not. It's clear you have the advantage," Shay smirked as he raced to the cliff face.

"Are we seriously taking this bet?" Blake asked, looking at the rest of the group.

"Heck yeah, we are!" Yang yelled, following after the young man.

"Eh, I suppose I can put up with this," Weiss said, quickly catching up with the man.

While the rest of the group atop the destroyed tower made haste to the cliff, the alternate group watched what was going on.

"Whaddaya think they're doing?" Nora wondered, placing a hand on her hammer.

"It seems that they are climbing the cliff face, without their semblance," Ren observed, crossing his arms as he stared at Shay, who was far in the lead.

"Why do you think they're do that?" Jaune asked.

"I think Shay challenged them to a bet," Pyrrha answered.

"Do you think that it applies to us as well?"

"Do you want to find out?" Ren asked, who ran towards the cliff, managing to pull off a high jump over the fallen bridge.

"Nora, can you-" Jaune was about to ask until he found that Nora flew over the bridge with her hammer as well, yelling 'whee!'.

"Oh Dust," Jaune buried his face with his hands, only to feel Pyrrha's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, if you lose, I'll lose with you," she assured.

"Thanks Pyrrha," Jaune said, smiling slightly.

"Hey, what're friends for?" she gave him a smile as well, helping the young man to the cliff face, ready to accept whatever was coming to them.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Alright; all is good, all is good. Thank you for reading, I'll upload the next chapter soon.**

 **Jaysus, this chapter's word count...**

 **IT'S OVER 9000!**


	5. Chapter 5: RWBY(S)

**Q &A:**

 **N7 Recruit:** **Not spoiling anything.**

 **mastermind:** **Eventually. Also, even if there was a pairing, you have to know that Shay comes from a world where young women married off to men far older than them. If it helps (hypothetically) if a pairing does occur, I guess you can say that Shay now has to accept the fact that he's not an old man anymore, people will treat him differently than he was back on Earth.**

 **welcometodalolz:** **Once again, not spoiling anything. But on the subject of Pluto himself: he will refrain from being a 'Deus Ex Machina' character, he's there only for the ride in Shay's mind. If you need a better example, Pluto is to Shay Cormac; as The Outsider is to Corvo Attano.**

 **King Edgar:** ** _Jesus Christ_...**

* * *

 **I do not own Assassin's Creed or RWBY. Either way, may the Father of Understanding guide you all.**

 _"Do you swear to uphold the principles of our order and all that for which we stand?_

 _"I do."_

 _"And never share our secrets nor divulge the true nature of our work?"_

 _"I do."_

 _"And to do so now until death - whatever the cost?"_

 _"I do."_

 _"Then we welcome you into our fold, brother. You are now a Templar, harbinger of a New World. May the Father of Understanding guide us."_

 _ **"May the Father of Understanding guide us..."** _

* * *

**Beacon Academy  
7:50 PM  
Unknown Time**

"Shay Cormac, please report to Professor Ozpin's office. Again, Shay Cormac, please report to Professor Ozpin's office," he heard a voice say, the group had finally reached the Academy and continued to walk through it's hallowed halls after the initiation.

"Okay, what happened now?" Yang asked, looking at him as though he was a criminal facing the death penalty.

"I don't know. Do you know whe-"

"Shay Cormac, you will be escorted by Professor Goodwitch to Professor Ozpin's office," the voice said again, it seems that fate has a sense of humour.

Seconds later, the black and white dressed woman appeared before the Templar.

"Mister Cormac," she said without any emotion in her voice.

"Miss Goodwitch," Shay bowed respectfully.

"Shall we?" she motioned to the direction in which Ozpin's office may be.

"Yes, thank you," Shay followed behind the woman to the Headmaster's office.

Yang only stared, trying to process what just happened.

"So what do you think happened?" Blake asked.

"He was probably being an idiot again," Weiss observed the two disappear into the hallways.

"I wouldn't say that," Yang smiled evilly, snapping out of her temporary stupor.

"And why not?" Weiss demanded.

Yang got closer to the white-dressed girl, leaning in closely so only she could hear what the yellow-haired girl had to say.

"He told me about what happened at the pond," she whispered. She could sense Weiss tense up at that sentence.

"He didn't!" the Heiress hissed.

"Oh yes he did. He even went so far as to describe it," Yang pulled away from the girl, who's face was already as red as Ruby's scythe.

"What did he say?" she demanded quietly.

"I dunno, if I had remembered, I would've filled up an entire twelve-page essay on the subject of his description," Yang merely shrugged casually.

"Well it meant nothing to me. Shay's rude, filthy, and not don't even get me started on his own fighting style. He carries weapons that are outdated yet manages through dumb luck to still survive with them," Weiss turned away, only to be greeted by the face of Yang again.

 _How did she do that!_ Weiss nearly yelled.

"Maybe you like guys like him? Someone who can rival your own... tenacity. Someone who can beat you at your own game," the yellow-haired girl explained, looming over the shorter girl.

"What!? No, he and I are different in so many ways," the alabaster heiress responded flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And yet you both are alike in just as many ways."

"Right, name one?"

"You both have that air of authority, even when Shay looks like he's wearing rags. You both are stubborn, very stubborn, but you both never seem to show it. _And_ you both like to argue, a lot! Like you guys are attracted to each other's ange-"

"I get it, I get it. But no, I'm not attracted to him in anyway at all!" she continued to argue with the young woman.

"He also seems to like the differences you both possess. Oh imagine: the poor handsome man meets the wealthy beautiful woman, despite their flaws, they both end up head over heels for one another; it's like a classic love story!" Yang squealed in excitement, clearly mocking Weiss.

"I said shut up!" she almost yelled.

"Finally, he also mentioned a certain color with a certain shade you made after the...incident. Let's say that that color is in this group... and I'm related to said person with that color," her grin widened even more.

"What are we talking about?" Ruby said, managing to enter the conversation.

"Weiss has a crush," Yang teased, the red haired girl then looked at Weiss with a quizzical look on her face.

"I do not!" she nearly yelled, dangerously, her blush deepening even more as they continued to bombard her with more forms of embarrassment (although Ruby was not aware that this was, in fact, teasing).

 _"~Yes you do!~"_ Yang sang.

"Really? Who is it? I promise that I can keep a secret," Ruby begged, ready to pull out the 'puppy-eyed' stare at a moments notice.

"I'll give you a hint, it's someone in our group," Yang hinted. Ruby tried to think and narrow down the list of people in their gang of students.

Her eyes widened in realization, "Oh my gosh-"

"Even if I did, you will not tell a single soul that-"

"I knew it! I knew you would give in to Jaune's charm," Ruby squeaked excitedly.

"Umm... what?"

"Oh, don't act like it's all a big surprise. I remember when he saved you from that fall. I knew you felt something for him at that point," Ruby whispered.

"Eww no! I would rather go out with Shay than..." Weiss stopped, realizing what she had just said.

Yang leaned in closer, "Oh really?" her grin grew to rival even the Cheshire Cat's smile.

"Ugh! Both of you shut up, I'm going to go... read a book or something. Goodbye!" she yelled, storming off from the group.

"The library's that way," Blake said, pointing to the opposite end of the hallway.

"I knew that!" Weiss snapped, pushing past the red and yellow dressed sisters towards the library.

"What's up with her?" Jaune asked.

"Oh nothing. So what's up?" Ruby responded quickly.

"Nothing much. So why do you think Shay's going to the Headmaster's office?" he asked.

"He didn't do anything wrong, per say. Well, he did leave me alone with Weiss after he disappeared all of a sudden, but I doubt that's it," Ruby guessed.

"Maybe he's not going because he's in trouble," Jaune said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if he was so good, he was to be thanked by the Headmaster himself for doing such a good job," the young man answered.

"Well, that sounds a little too farfec... far feth... far feekfkef- Blake what's that word again?"

"Far-fetched?"

"Exactly. You did just as good as he did, you should be getting thanked as well if that's the case," Ruby said.

"You're right, so what _are_ they talking about?" Jaune asked.

They stared at their former direction for only a second.

"I dunno, it'll be easier if we just forget about it," Ruby suggested.

"Seems like a very good idea. So... what now?"

"Let's start with catching up with rest of the group," Ruby said, giving chase to the rest of the gang.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jaune yelled, nearly dropping the air rifle that he forgot to give back.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester," the Headmaster announced, listening as the crowd beside him applauded the creation of this new team.

Shay strode alongside Goodwitch through the halls, his eyes focusing on the crowd that he would stand in front of.

The woman then took a sharp left turn, opening a door, revealing the four girls in front of Shay.

"Oh Shay, what're you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"There's been a slight change of plans. Shay, follow the rest of the group when they are called and listen to Professor Ozpin," the Professor said, turning away to leave the five.

The rest of the group looked at Shay with uncertainty, curious as to what the Headmaster had told him.

"So... what happened at Ozpin's?" Yang asked.

"I will tell you later," Shay said, listening to the next team introduction.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you received the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by Jaune Arc," Shay listened as the crowd applauded them, and watched as Nora hugged the more silent boy beside her, laughing as she did so, and Jaune falling to the ground as Pyrrha playfully slugged him on the shoulder, the crowd laughing at Jaune as he fell.

The newly created team turned around and went back the same way they had entered, passing the next five individuals beside them. The five stopped, with Shay standing to Ruby's left.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, and... Shay Patrick Cormac. The five of you retrieve the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose," Shay nodded slightly at the Headmaster, who nodded back.

The Templar turned to see a surprised look on Ruby and Weiss' faces as they realized their situation.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang embraced her younger sister.

"Good choice of leadership, Professor Ozpin," Shay said, earning an angry look from Weiss.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year," the Headmaster said through the roar of applause coming from the crowd.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

The only things that Shay could to bring to his new dormitories was his new uniform (given by Ozpin) and his hidden blades, which he had managed to sneak past any Academy authorities that he had passed by.

The Templar had stayed behind to place the rest of his weapons in his locker. He entered the washroom and looked at his face in the mirror, the same scarred, unshaven face that did not match with his original Templar robes. He opened his drawer and grabbed a razor. Positioning the blade over his chin, he soon got to work on removing the excess hair from his face, grabbing a small red ribbon and tying his hair back as well, looking like he did when he had been welcomed into the Order, only younger.

 _I can get used to this,_ he thought to himself, looking over himself in the mirror once more before turning away and exiting the bathroom.

Now finished, the young man began walking back to the dormitory that was provided by, like everything except the supplies that he brought when he arrived on this world, Professor Ozpin.

He finally made his way back to his room, about to open the door before hearing a loud, feminine shriek.

"Don't open the door, we're still changing!" the voice yelled.

"It's me: Shay," the Templar said, waiting for the voice to respond.

"... _~Come on in!~_ " the voice sang.

"Yang?"

"The one and only!" the voice nearly shouted.

"My God, have you no shame?!" Shay stared at the door that the girl was behind.

"Depends on who I'm talking to. You can come in now, were done," the yellow-haired girl said. Shay sighed in relief as he opened the door to see the four girls in their sleeping garments; Blake was sitting on her bed, reading an untitled book, Weiss was already preparing her bed, Ruby was writing another letter to her friends at Signal, while Yang was in the center of the room, looking at Shay's new look. Shay caught a glimpse of Weiss looking at him with her jaw slightly open for only a second before closing her mouth and turning her attention back to her bed, her face more red than it should be.

"Wow, I never thought you were capable of looking even _more_ handsome and badass," Yang grinned, taking notice of his freshly-shaved face and the ponytail that he now possessed. She now realized why he had that air of no-nonsense authority around him, he could pass as an Atlesian Officer without the armor.

"Language, Yang!" Ruby yelled.

"Sorry."

Oh yes, without the armor...

"Are you done staring at me, Yang?" Shay asked, the girl was lost in thought when he asked the question.

"Huh, wha- oh, yup, yeah. I'm done," Yang answered quickly.

"Right," Shay drawled out, walking over and throwing himself onto the extra bed in the room.

"What are you doing?" Yang asked.

"Sleeping."

"In your uniform?"

"Yeah, what about it? I've slept in my own clothes before."

"Yeah, but you're using those tomorrow. You need to change into something more comfortable," she emphasized the 'comfortable' while air quoting the word.

"But I did not bring sleeping wear," his response caused the girl to grin.

"Strip."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Are you really that desperate?" Shay asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"No, 'desperate' is dating the last man on the planet, no matter how bad he looks. You are far from last... or bad," Yang's eyes flashed in excitement.

Shay sighed as he covered his face with his hand and sighed in defeat, "If you insist."

He got up from his bed, removing the tie and setting the long red lace on the bed, continuing to remove his black suit and putting it next to the red unfolded tie.

Yang looked at the man in his blue vest, as though she was still not impressed yet.

" _More_ ," she purred.

The Templar rolled his eyes in annoyance as he unbuttoned the vest and shirt, letting everyone in the room see the top of his waist. Causing everyone except Shay to blush wildly.

"Happy now, Xiao Long?"

" _~The pants too!_ " she sang.

"You're fucking kidding me."

"Nope, keep stripping!"

Shay groaned in humiliation as he realized the girl could easily subdue him and do the job herself with those gun attachments around her wrists. The Templar kicked the shoes off his feet and removed his socks. Before he could take off his pants, a thought struck him.

"Forget it."

"What?"

"I'm not going to risk my dignity over you. If you want to remove these pants, you'll have to pry them off of my cold, dead body."

There was a long silence.

"If you insist," Yang shrugged her shoulders and charged after the man.

Shay took the time to notice that she did not have her weapons on her at the time, and he had his hidden blades, but he didn't want to kill her.

The Assassin Hunter quickly ducked under her strike and pushed her into the wall, causing her to stumble slightly before regaining composure, only to be interrupted as Shay slammed her head into the wall again, almost creating a hole in the wall.

"I'm not afraid to hit a woman," Shay snarled, raising his hands to his face.

Yang wiped the blood off her lip as the wound was sealed by her aura.

"Neither am I," she smirked, charging after the man again, this time aiming for his throat. Shay caught the fist, but was still pushed to the ground by the momentum, causing the two to fall anyway.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Ruby asked, watching the ensuing fight.

"They do seem to be creating a mess," Blake observed.

"I don't want to get involved in all this craziness," Weiss said, pulling the blanket closer to her face, as though it would act as a shield.

Shay rolled away before the crazy woman's fists could hit the floor, standing up quickly and planting a foot on the base of her neck.

"Yield."

"No!" she turned around to punch him, but he grabbed her arm and gripped her throat tightly with his other hand.

"Yield."

"Never!" Yang yelled, breaking from his chokehold and punching him straight in the stomach, causing him to double over while clutching his stomach.

Yang took the opportunity to kick the man in the face, but he dodged immediately as though he faked his pain. The Templar grabbed her ankle and lifted it high in the air, causing her to fall over and land on her back. Shay laid on top of her, pinning both of her arms with his foot and knee.

He grabbed the girl by ear, resulting in a pain that she had never felt before: being pulled by the ear as though she was a child.

"Yield."

"No!" the pain increased, causing her to grit her teeth.

"Yield!"

"Never!" the pain almost reached maximum limit, tears began forming in her eyes.

"I. SAID! YIELD!" Shay roared, raising his hand, which proceeded to clench tightly into a fist.

"Am... am I interrupting something?" they heard a voice.

Everyone in the room turned to see Jaune poke his head into the room.

"No," Shay said, pulling himself off of the girl.

"Nope!"

"Uh uh."

"We're fine."

"Go to bed."

"Um, okay. I'm just here to return Shay's rifle. Night guys," Jaune said as he laid the Templar's air rifle near the door, slowly disappearing from Team RWBY's room and into his own.

"Good night, Jaune," Shay said as he got up and picked up his rifle, he then shot a furious glare at the girl.

"Fine, you can keep the pants. But we're not finished yet," Yang growled before taking a look at his wrist bracers.

"Why keep the bracers?" she suddenly asked out of curiosity.

"It's mine and I decided to keep them," Shay responded bluntly, only making the yellow-haired girl narrow her eyes in suspicion before walking back to her own bed.

"Alright! Now that you guys' lovers quarrel is over. Tell us, why were you sent to the Headmaster's office?" Weiss asked.

"He told me to keep it confidential. I mustn't tell anyone," Shay lied, not wanting to get into a conversation.

"Right," she said in suspicion, turning away from the man and closing her eyes.

"Good night everyone," Ruby said, turning off the light.

"Good night," Yang waved her arm into the air to acknowledge her younger sister.

"Likewise," Blake said.

"'Night," Weiss responded.

"Good night, Ruby," Shay said as he turned over and closing his eyes as well.

 ** _Two hour earlier..._**

Shay opened the door to the Headmaster's office and closed it behind him.

The entire office was all below one big clock. Gears turned every now and then to remind them that the time was still passing by.

"I see you are amazed by my office. But enough with that. Please, take a seat," Professor Ozpin said, gesturing to the chair in front of him.

The Templar nodded and sat down on the chair.

"Do you know why I have called you down here?" he asked.

"The pond incident?"

"No, Miss Schnee merely saved your life. I highly doubt it had anything to do with any intimate relationship. No, you are here because of your position at this school."

"My position?" Shay asked, not understanding the case.

"Mister Cormac, you are literally the odd man out. When you arrived in Beacon, you were a last-minute student, like Ruby. The only difference was that you were supposed to be assigned a team of your own as well. The problem is that we did not have enough students. My dear assistant Glynda advised that I either assign you to Solitary missions, or assign you as a fifth team member."

"Let me guess. You chose the latter?" Shay guessed.

"It is not the problem of you taking on missions involving the Grimm, the problem is taking them on alone. Solitary students are extremely rare and rather exceptional students, but after several assignments, the effects of their isolation sets in. They become erratic, distant, exhibiting signs of sociopath-like tendencies. Unable to form long attachments with other forms of intelligent life, feeling more close to their weapons than actual people, a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the closest it can be related to. Graduated Huntsmen do not possess these symptoms as they have already been in touch with friends and were once part of a group before taking on missions of hunting creatures of Grimm," Ozpin explained, taking a long sip from his mug of coffee.

"But for being assigned as a Fifth member, they are not common, but not as exceptional as Solitaries. Fifth members are treated just as equally as a team possessing four, whether this extra individual is either human or faunus, despite their names not mentioned on the Teams. You have found another white knight piece, the same pieces that Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had at hand. I find it a bit suspicious that you were aware that you did not have a partner, yet you chose a piece that was chosen by four girls that are about to be assigned together," the aged professor raised an eyebrow.

Shay finally found out what _exactly_ he was talking about.

"I can assure you sir, that I was not aware of your rules when I came here," Shay said.

"No one was, at the time. I just find it a little strange. So rather than punish you for doing something you were not aware of, you will be assigned to the team that possessed the white knight pieces. I trust that you will not harm nor harass your new teammates."

"I don't plan to, sir," the Templar responded.

"Good, otherwise the consequences would be dire," the Headmaster took another sip.

"Just one question?" Shay asked.

"Yes?"

"Why not bend the rules and assign me to a more appropriate team, like Jaune and Pyrrha, or even wait until new students arrive?"

"I could do that, but I would not want to waste resources on a student doing nothing but studying and practicing until he is assigned to a team, or risk the sanity of you becoming a Solitary when I do not possess a psychological assessment on your identification. Because officially, you do not exist; that or you came from beyond the four kingdoms, which is impossible as only the Grimm and certain groups of faunus live outside the kingdoms. Humans from beyond these continents are unlikely," Ozpin answered.

"I understand, Professor. I will try to make do with what I have, and try to make the best of it," Shay stood up from his chair.

"Good. You may leave now," the Professor finished, watching as Shay pushed in his seat and exited the older man's office

Ozpin stared at the closed door before taking a sip from his mug again, only to find that it was now empty.

"Damn," the man muttered, looking down at the bottom of the empty cup. The Headmaster finally decided to get up and head to the final part of the initiation.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 _ **Later that night...**_

Yang slowly crept out of her bed and made her way to Shay's, nearly tripping over the rest of the Team RWBY beds.

She stood over the man's sleeping body, snoring peacefully.

The blonde-haired girl knelt down and lifted his arm, slowly sliding the wrist bracer off of his arm. Freezing as she felt Shay stir in his sleep.

She breathed out a sigh of relief as she quickly tiptoed back to her bed, putting the bracer on her right arm.

"What's so special about this?" she whispered to herself, moving her hand and twisting her fingers around until a blade shot out of the wrist section, causing her to flinch in fright.

"This is so cool! Not as cool as Ember Celica, but cool nonetheless," she said to herself, flicking her wrist back to see the blade sheathe back into into the bracer.

"Can I have that back?" she heard a voice, causing her to freeze immediately. She slowly looked up to see Shay holding out his hand, waiting to receive the weapon. She turned slightly to see that his left hand had the other blade unsheathed.

His intent was clear: give back what was his or suffer the consequences.

"You are stepping into unknown territory, Yang. Pray you do not delve deeper into my secrets or I will not hesitate to put you down," Shay warned darkly.

Yang did not hesitate to remove the bracer and toss it to him, putting the hidden blade bracer back into it's rightful place.

"Thank you Yang, and have a good night," he said, walking back to his bed.

Yang fell asleep an hour after the encounter, her own fears keeping her up throughout this hour.

It was not the threat that she feared, nor him.

It was why he had those blades in the first place that scared her.

Blades that are not meant for Creatures of Grimm.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: So, what do you think of my choices?**

 **...**

 **Stop judging me! (Runs and cries in Spanish)**


	6. Chapter 6: Day One

**Q &A:**

 **geoffrey hogue** : **You'll see soon...**  


 **Mastermind:** **Even if such a thing were to happen, he is still new to the world; no contacts, no allies, no resources, nothing. Besides, it would take another Templar to make him realize such a thing, or even convince him to do this deed. PS: Your grammar nearly gave me cancer.**

 **Anonymo:** **The Morrigan didn't arrive there with Shay, but I might be able to make something work.**

 **Mr** **Fizz:** **First, they don't know what Templars are; two, it's totalitarian, not terrorarian; third, the team name must be based on color, not the individual's name, besides, would they really discriminate because he doesn't have a color-coded name? No offense, but there's so much wrong in that one comment (forgive my Grammar Nazi roots)**

 **Mr Hexalia:** **Well, this _might_ answer your question, but it may just be a phase. **

**I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _There's no turning back now..._

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
8:01 AM  
Day 1, Monday. (Month 9, Year 0)**

Waking up to a whistle was a new experience to Shay. The sound was loud, shrill, and very annoying. But it did it's job in waking up both Shay, who's eyes shot open at the sound and immediately glared at the young leader; and Weiss, who had fallen off her own bed.

"Good morning, Team RWBY!" the girl yelled.

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Weiss basically spoke Shay's thoughts out loud.

But Ruby didn't even flinch at her outburst, "Now that you two are awake, we can officially begin our first order of business."

"Excuse me?" Shay got out of his bed and put his own uniform on. He caught Yang grinning at him in mischief, but the Templar raised his wrists to eye level, to make the girl remember what he was capable of.

The effect was instantaneous, shutting the yellow-haired girl up immediately and looking away before giving him a nervous glance.

"Decorating!" she yelled, recovering from her fear immediately, but speaking more to Weiss than Shay.

Wait, where did all those materials come from?

"What?!" Weiss yelled in confusion.

"We still have to unpack," Blake said, holding up a suitcase, which then opened up, spilling the contents all over the floor.

"And clean."

The only man in the room watched as Weiss fell over from Ruby's whistle again.

"Alright! Weiss, Yang, Shay, Blake, and their fearless leader Ruby have begun their first mission. Banzai!" she yelled, tossing her fist into the air.

"Banzai!" Yang and Blake followed up before the three turned at an angle, like a Bonsai tree.

Shay merely sat back down on his bed and watched as the girls began to unpack everything and specialize the room to fit the needs of the team.

The Assassin Hunter watched the girls work; remaining neutral of Yang putting up a poster of several men, nodding indifferently as Weiss put up a painting of a forest, raising an eyebrow as Blake put up several books before throwing the team a worrying stare as she clutched onto a certain book called _'_ _Ninjas of Love'_ , she gulped in fear as Shay caught sight of the title, but he put his finger to his lips, smirking slightly and calming the girl's fears.

Shay revoked his previous statement, book recommendations from Blake were certainly not needed. He then groaned silently as Ruby attempted to put up a curtain, but accidentally sliced it diagonally through the middle.

He continued to watch as the materials took up more and more space, forcing the beds to become pushed together until his own bed was caught in the mess as well, causing him to make his way to the door, standing in between the four girls.

"This isn't going to work," Weiss said.

"It is a bit cramped," Blake observed.

"You don't say?" Shay asked rhetorically, earning both a glare and a punch to the shoulder.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff," Yang suggested.

"Or we could ditch the beds... and replace them with bunk beds!" Ruby yelled, throwing both of her hands upwards into the air enthusiastically.

"That sounds incredibly dangerous," Weiss pointed out, concerned with the hazards of such an idea.

"And super awesome!" Yang agreed with Ruby.

"It does seem efficient," Blake said, looking at the rest of the group.

"Well, we should put it to a vote," Weiss suggested.

"I think they just did," the former Assassin responded, crossing his arms together.

"Wait! What about you?" Ruby asked the man.

"The better I sleep, the less you hear from me. But how will you get the supplies?" Shay asked the red-haired girl.

"Leave that to us!" Ruby said, the rest of the group rushed to the beds and began making these makeshift bunk beds quickly with only the things they had on hand.

Shay looked at the results. It was like looking at a ship made of other wrecked ships.

But hey: if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.

"Alright, our second order of business iiiiiiiiss... classes," Ruby groaned as a book rested in her lap.

"Now, we have a few classes together today. At 9, we've got to be-"

"What?! Did you say 9 o' clock?!"

"Uumm..." Ruby tried to think of something to say.

"It's 8:55, you dunce!" Weiss shrieked, running out of the room with Shay following close behind.

"Uhh... to class!" Ruby yelled, running out of the room with Blake and Yang.

"We're gonna be late!" he heard Jaune yell behind them.

Since the man had no idea where he was going, he decided to follow after the one with the most knowledge, presumably Weiss.

The group of students continued to sprint through the hallways, moving to the locker rooms as well to take their weapons out of their lockers and attempt to sheathe them into their places, until they managed to stumble into the classroom on time, they each regained their composure and made their way to a seat beside one another.

As Shay found found out, he and the rest of the team were assigned several classes: Goodwitch and... Oobleck for examples. He managed to get a small summary of their lectures before having to move onto the last subject. As they got there, the professor, this... Peter Port, had began his lecture before the class even started, with only a handful of student even listening.

"Monsters! Deeeemons, Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Haha!" the portly man chuckled.

It took Shay about a minute to realize that this was actually a joke.

"...And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the three other kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen, Huntresses-" Shay watched as the old man winked at Yang, who only groaned uncomfortably.

This man even made him feel uneasy from that action, despite it not being directed towards him.

"-Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

Shay heard a student agree with the man, only receiving looks from the other students.

"That is what you are training to become. But first: a story. A tale of a young, handsome man... me! When I was a boy..." this was the time Shay decided to tune out the man's speech of his own life story. Instead, focusing on his own.

So this was his new life, to pretend to be a student at a school for killing monsters. Although the perks were his youth, longer lifespan and retaining of knowledge, he was absolutely clueless to the world that he was in. These people came in the form of average people, but there were those that were cruel like Torchwick, naive as Ruby, bitter as Weiss, and... manipulative as Ozpin. The Templar would have to figure out this world's problems, history, and concerns if he needed to be useful here. But in the meantime, the only thing he was, was a man out of this world; out of this universe.

"Ahem!" the professor said, causing Shay to instinctively unsheathed his left blade in surprise, causing both Blake and Yang to glare at him.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" he finished his story.

Ruby made a noise from the other side of the desk, causing Shay to turn and look at the girl, who had what appeared to be a poorly drawn image of Professor Port, causing the Assassin Hunter to bury his face in his hands in embarrassment.

 _Dammit, Ruby._

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Shay could almost feel the rage coming off of Weiss as she continued to observe the younger's humiliating antics.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable," Port continued, unaware of the fact that he was not helping the situation.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise," the professor finished.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Weiss' hand shot up.

 _Oh shit._

"I do, sir!" she shouted.

"Well then, let's find out! Step forward and face your opponent!" he commanded, Weiss complied with his orders, getting up and walking towards the opposite end of the stage with her blade in hand. Shay took note of the growls that emitted from the cage.

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" Blake encouraged.

"Yeah! Represent Team RWBY!" Ruby yelled.

The other three shot Shay a glare as he did not say anything. He took notice of these glances and sighed in defeat.

"...Kick it's arse, Weiss," he muttered, though he doubt she heard him.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

"Oh, sorry," Ruby apologized sheepishly.

"Alright! Let the match... begin!" Port said. Shay was shocked by the fact that he even allowed these creatures on the Academy's premises, but he decided to save that thought for another time.

The cage opened up, revealing a creature of Grimm resembling a warthog, only it possessed four eyes, and it was heading straight for Weiss. The alabaster girl managed to strike it's side and dodge the demonic creature.

"Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

"My God, please shut up," Shay whispered, directing his attention to the professor's narcissism.

"Hang in there Weiss!" he heard Ruby yell.

Weiss proceeded to speed towards the creature, who merely shrugged off the blow and caught her blade in it's tusks while Weiss was still holding on to the hilt of her blade.

"Bold, new approach! I like it!"

"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby yelled, the rest of the group watching as the beast ripped the blade out of Weiss' grasp.

"Oh ho, now what will you do without your weapon?" the portly Professor... Port asked.

Weiss managed to roll away at the last second as the beast almost managed to charge into her. She took the opportunity to rush towards her weapon and retrieve it, facing the creature once again.

"Weiss! Go for it's belly, there's no armor underneath!" Ruby explained loudly.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snapped, causing the youngest of the team to look hurt at her statement.

The creature then leapt into the air and began spinning on it's back until it formed a sort of wheel, what kind of beasts are these?!

Weiss activated a glyph as soon as the creature came within range, causing it to collide with a seemingly transparent symbol and stumble onto it's back, leaving it's torso wide open. The heiress activated another glyph, leaping onto it and rushing towards the creature with her blade pointed towards the damned beast.

Shay watched as she skewered the beast. Like the pig it was.

"Bravo, bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training," Port congratulated the girl as stood up and shook off her exhaustion, Shay looked across the desk to see that Ruby was still frowning in sadness.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant! Class dismissed," he finished.

Weiss glared and turned around, walking away.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" he heard Jaune wonder to himself.

The Templar turned to see the rest of the group looking at one another as though they were asking the same question as well.

"If I may intrude on your staring," Shay said, "I think it may have something to do with Ruby. I suggest you go talk with Weiss if you want to find the answer to your question."

Ruby thought about his words before nodding at the Templar and bolting after the girl.

"And there she goes," Yang observed.

"It seems so... onto the next class?" Shay asked.

"I think that's about all we got," Blake answered.

"Good, my back has been a nuisance from sitting on those damned seats," the Templar said, standing up and heading to the exit, the rest of the Team RWBY followed behind him, managing to avoid getting involved with the outburst between the other members, but they still managed to hear it anyway.

The three walked to the dorm in silence as Yang and Blake followed Shay, looks of sadness and doubt on their faces.

They reached the dorms, the man opened the door and let the other two inside, closing the door behind them as they entered.

Shay moved the only bed that wasn't secured to another to the center of the room, this was his bed.

He removed the majority of his clothing, save for his pants, and landed on the mattress in front of him. He watched as the girls looked at him, not even bothering to be flustered by his appearance, meaning that this was serious.

"So do we just wait for this to just blow over?" Yang asked, breaking the silence.

"It appears so," Shay answered, laying his head back on the pillow.

"Do we really have to wait? Can we at least do something fun?" she whined.

"What do you have in mind?" Blake asked.

"Hmm..." Yang thought before smiling.

 _Uh oh._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

For the next hour, it was a haze between games that Yang considered "fun".

Some of these games included arm wrestling several times with the blonde brawler while Blake tallied the scores (the score was equal and therefore, was a tie), playing Darts with a dartboard and Shay's throwing knives (she lost the darts), which Shay had been the winner with Blake coming in second. This entertainment did it's best to make them forget about the argument, but to no avail.

Then there were games that made the former Assassin extremely uncomfortable.

"Truth or Dare, Shay?" Yang asked, this game for example, knew when to dive into the personal area of a person.

"(Sighs) Dare," the Templar answered, always picking dare, afraid that she might ask a personal question on his past life.

So he was forced to reluctantly, and voluntarily, perform humiliating tasks.

"I dare you to... either jump out the window or shave your head!" she yelled, running out of ideas to use. She tried getting him to stand on his head and sing the 'Song that Never Ends' until he the song was over, until she realized he knew nothing of the song. For the duration of the time, she made him perform tasks that he seemed to understand, or try to coax him to say 'truth'.

"Done," Shay said, willing to leave the game. He stood up and headed towards the window, looking down to see a piling stack of leaves below him from what felt like a kilometer below.

"Wait, you're actually doing it?" Yang looked up at him in shock, watching as he stepped outside, outside and able to fall at any moment.

"Of course, you told me to," he replied in a monotone voice.

"I was just kidding! Don't do it, please," she smiled nervously. Shay realized that he was scaring her, and this amused him.

He lifted his foot and held it over the ledge, Yang's heart skipped a beat in fear.

"Why not?"

"You'll get yourself killed," she protested.

"What makes you think that?"

"You're standing on the edge of a building! On a cliff! That is surrounded by a forest filled with Grimm! Are you crazy, or just stupid!?" she asked.

"I'm not afraid of heights, it's the ground I'm suspicious of," Shay smirked, letting gravity do the work.

"SHAY NO!" Yang yelled, looking over the edge to see him fall.

Although he knew that he would survive the fall, they didn't. That's why he suddenly felt something wrap around his leg, he looked up to see the black ribbon that Blake had possessed in her hands. Shay then felt the speed stop suddenly, nearly dislocating his ankle.

"Ah!" Shay yelled as the pain shot up his leg, watching as the two managed to pull him back up into the room.

The young man landed on his back, groaning as he got back up. Shay turned to see (and feel) a fist accelerating into his jaw, sending him into the wall.

"Don't! Ever! Do! That! Again!" Yang yelled, hitting him in the shoulder repeatedly until she sighed and quickly sat down on her bed.

"You actually care?" Shay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I care, you idiot! Why did you do that?!" she demanded.

"There was a pile of leaves at the bottom, I've jumped off of higher heights before," he explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well you should've told us that before Blake made you bungee jump back to the room!"

"I'll make a note of that, Yang."

"Shut up," Yang huffed, crossing her arms in frustration.

"I think that's enough games for today, we should get some rest," Blake proposed.

"I second that," Shay said, about to get into his bed, but Ruby had entered the room as soon as he did.

The girl had a look of partial relief on her face.

"Ruby, are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, thanks for asking Shay," Ruby said, a smile spreading across her face.

"You're welcome," Shay responded, laying down on his bed, pulling the sheets to his chest.

"Umm... Shay? Is it okay if you close your eyes for a minute? I have to change," she said to him.

"I'm already going to sleep."

"Oh, okay then," Ruby responded.

Shay nodded in reply as he closed his eyes and awaited sleep.

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 _"Hello Shay," the same voice greeted Shay in the dreamworld. Shay up to see Pluto floating above the nonexistant ground just a few meters away from him_

 _"Pluto, what brings you into my dreams?" Shay asked the hovering deity._

 _"I was just stopping by to say hello. It also seems that you are warming up to your new team, am I correct?"_

 _"I guess you can say that," the Templar shrugged his shoulders._

 _"Good, I have something for you," Pluto said, reaching from within his robes, pulling out a sheet of paper._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"I heard the one known as Weiss point out that you're weapons are very outdated, and that you need a set of replacements. This page is a... blueprint of sorts," the Precursor explained._

 _"Blueprints?"_

 _"Yeah, designs for new weapons; sword, rifle, pistols,... blades," he motioned to Shay's concealed weapons._

 _"I understand, but this is a dream. You expect these prints to just magically appear in my hands the moment I wake up?"_

 _"No, no. I'm going to transfer the schematics into your mind. It's a process that the others of my kind did to the Assassins. How did you think those blades on your wrist came to be?"_

 _Shay looked down at his wrists before giving the Precursor a look of curiosity._

 _"Are you saying that you created the hidden blade?"_

 _"Me? No, but Juno gave the idea to the Assassins, making those blades the symbol of the Assassin Brotherhood," Pluto explained._

 _It did make sense, in a way. The blades always seemed so advanced, despite both it's creation and the fact that it involved the removal of a ring finger before being replaced with a safer design._

 _"All right, I'll put my trust in you this time. How the hell does this process work?"_

 _"'Tis a simple process. But I must warn you, the process will be painful and I can only transfer one schematic at a time, so you will receive the plans for making a new set of pistols. Are you ready?"_

 _The Templar breathed in sharply._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Good, do not bother to brace yourself, it'll only make it more painful," Pluto said, walking to the man and touching the center of his forehead with his index finger._

 _Shay suddenly felt a burning sensation in his head, as though a blade of hot lead had embedded itself into his skull. He clutched his head in pain, yelling at the agony within his mind._

 _The young man sank to his knees as the pain continued._

 _"You'll wake up shortly after the pain subsides," the Precursor explained, but it did nothing to help Shay's pain._

 _"AAHHH!" Shay yelled, the entire mist-like world began to brighten more and more until it stopped._

 _Consciousness finally brought him back._

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

The Templar jolted awake, immediately sitting up and breathing heavily in panic. He looked around to see Weiss talking with Ruby, the two were staring at him with confused looks.

"Forgive me, bad dream," he explained, noticing that Ruby was now holding a mug of coffee, similar to Ozpin's cup.

"Ruby, I think you have what it takes to be a good leader," Weiss said, Ruby smiled at her compliment.

"Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you will ever have," she continued.

This caused Shay to smile lightly at the girl, approving of this change of heart.

"Good luck studying... that's wrong by the way," the girl in white pointed at Ruby's homework before leaving.

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Uh huh?" Ruby asked.

"I always wanted bunk beds as a kid," Weiss said, closing the door behind her.

Shay smiled at both Ruby and Weiss as he laid his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes, only to find that there was a problem.

 _I can't sleep,_ Shay realized, he wasn't tired at all. It was as though the pain had woken him out of the tired daze that one usually gets when they wake up.

The young man rose from his bed, put on a shirt, and began heading for the exit.

"Where are you going, Shay?" Ruby asked, looking away from her book.

"I need to go clear my head, I seem a bit disoriented from the dream," Shay said, telling a half-truth. He was dazed and damaged mentally from his experience with Pluto, but this was also an excuse to go out and converse with Weiss, who was not busy at the time, while Yang and Blake were asleep, and the youngest before him was busy with her own work, so he thought that the only person not busy would have to suffice.

As soon as he was out of the room, he blinked, activating his Vision once more. When he possessed Vision, a mental compass appeared in his head, leading him to things such as danger or things of importance, but that was extremely rare. So a compass leading him to Weiss meant that he really needed someone to talk to at that moment.

He continued to follow the compass up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, then up another set of stairs until they reached the roof of the school. Upon approaching the ledge, he saw a white and blue outline in the darkness. Shay turned off his vision to see the figure was in pure white instead.

"Good evening, isn't it, Weiss?" Shay asked, causing the girl to quickly turn to see him, jumping upon seeing his presence.

"Shay! What are you doing here?" Weiss nearly yelled in surprise.

"Can't sleep, what're you doin' here?" he asked back.

"I come here to think sometimes when you guys are asleep."

Shay chuckled lightly as he sat down on the edge of the roof, his feet dangling freely as they had nothing to be supported by.

"Yes, it seems like a fine place to clear your head," the young man coughed a bit as he looked up to see Weiss standing beside him.

"If it helps, I'll keep this place a secret if that is what you would like."

"No no, it's fine, I don't always come here often, just when it's a necessity," she explained.

"As you wish. As for my temporary insomnia, I wish to talk with you; seeing as Yang and Blake are asleep, and Ruby is busy with her own work."

The girl pondered his words for only a few seconds.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?" she asked, watching as the man shifted in his current spot.

"You asked me how I got into Beacon when we were in the Emerald forest, before I disappeared," he said.

"Yeah, I remember that," she raised an eyebrow in a mixture of irritation and amusement.

"I got in when I was assisting in trying to stop a dust store robbery. It was that bastard, Torchwick," Shay said, scowling at the mention of the criminal.

"Roman Torchwick? The criminal?"

"Aye, the same man. With the help of a few others, we almost managed to capture him, but he escaped. Like Ruby, I was accepted because of my own exceptional abilities, but I was a different case."

"How so?"

He looked up at her, her face piqued with curiosity. Shay also noticed the scar over her left eye, wondering how she got such an injury.

"Think you can keep a secret?" he asked.

"Sure... why?"

The Templar sighed.

"When the robbery occurred, Torchwick sent a few of his men after me along with the one who I had assisted in this fight," Shay chose his words carefully, not mentioning that Ruby was there as well.

"She fought with grace and incapacitated these men. Me? In my eyes, they were nothing more than criminals, people that wanted to cause misery, turmoil, and anarchy; so I did what I could, I killed them, and I would've killed Torchwick given the opportunity, and I still would if he were standing in front of me right now," he looked up to see Weiss with a look of shock on her face.

"Killed them?"

"Aye. I struck down those that would terrorize the innocent, and I do not regret doing it," he stood up. Weiss felt as though he was towering over her as though he was some giant.

The girl cleared her throat and looked at him again.

"I believe what you did was the right thing. As brutal as it sounds, you did what seemed like the most necessary approach. So Ozpin is keeping you here because he thinks you are a danger?"

"Yes, but he also believes that I can put my brutality to good use, the Grimm for example," Shay explained.

"Well, it seems he made the right choice in putting you in our team," she tried sounding optimistic.

"Having to live in a room with four sexually frustrated girls?" he grinned humorlessly, only to then receive a hard slap to the face by Weiss' open palm.

"Say that one more time and I'll hit you again," she smirked evilly.

"Would you hit me again if I told you that I shot you with a sedative when you were arguing with Ruby in the ballroom?"

 ***SLAP!***

"Yes," Weiss said, rubbing her palm with her other hand as it was stinging from the slaps.

"Ah! Good to see you're expressing your opinion," Shay groaned as he moved his jaw, running his hand along the injured spot.

"I've got more where that came from if you say something like that again," she smiled mischievously, her hand resting on her white rapier.

"Noted," Shay said, knowing that she probably wouldn't kill him even if she tried.

The two continued to look at each other, trying to see which one would break their gaze.

"So... I think it's about time we left," Weiss suggested, looking towards the door.

"Good idea," Shay said, turning in the direction of the door.

"Wait!" he turned to see the white-clothed girl walking towards him.

Weiss walked over to him and raised her feet so she was standing on her toes. She then pecked him on the cheek.

This time, Shay's face turned red for several seconds as he gave her a look of surprise, gulping in shock as he did so.

"That's for cheering me on during Port's class, telling me to 'kick it's arse' and... for keeping me company today," she smiled meekly and looked down, daring to not look him in the eyes as she walked back to their dorm.

The man stood in shock for only a few seconds, his mind trying to process what had just happened: this girl slaps him in the face twice for saying and doing things that would obviously anger her, then she kisses him for conversing with her and just being friendly, although it most likely had something to do with them disliking each other at first. Shay shook his head in confusion before looking back at Weiss, who was only a few meters ahead of him.

 _Wait a minute, she actually heard me during the lecture?!_ Shay thought, but he pushed the thought aside.

He walked over to her, deciding to strike up another conversation.

"So Weiss, how did you get that scar over your eye?" Shay asked, motioning to the scar over her left eye.

"I'll answer your question if you tell me how you got yours," she said, pointing to the scar over his right eye.

Shay raised an eyebrow, "I guess I'll get my answer later."

"So be it," she grinned as she ran ahead of him, entering into the locker room to put away her rapier, then walking into the dorm, getting changed into her sleeping clothes.

The Templar chuckled as Weiss looked at him one last time, mouthing 'good night' to him, he only nodded to her.

He waited for about a minute before he entered the room, where he saw the four girls before him completely asleep.

Shay finally made his way into his own bed.

This time, he fell asleep.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: All right, beauties and gentlemen, I decided to post this one _very_ early because I may be busy with some stuff for a while. **

**Happy reading and keep an eye out for the next chapter!**

 **(Update to Mastermind: Forgive me for saying that, I've spent too much time on 9gag. lol)**


	7. Chapter 7: Retribution

**(Not so) Q &A:**

 **Mastermind:** **Sorry, it was meant to be a joke (now I realize I'm not so good at jokes on the internet).**

 **gostrow: I'm going to quote River Song from Doctor who, " _Spoilers_..."**

 **potato man (amazing name, by** **the** **way): Cool, but to be perfectly honest, I've been trying to make a dog pun on the subject of your review ever since I read it.**

 **welcometodalolz: It's the Morrigan (haha).**

 **anonymo: I'm not really all that good with making shipping names anyway so... yeah (sorry).**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _This mad grab for power; it ends now._

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
8:10 AM  
Day 9, Tuesday (Month 9, Year 0)**

While Weiss had gotten up early to avoid Ruby's dangerously annoying whistle, Shay was another case entirely.

The only man in Team RWBY had been asleep longer than the rest of the team, snoozing peacefully as he lay on his bed. But an opportunity from a certain blonde-haired girl was passed onto Ruby, who was certainly not reluctant with proceeding with this plan.

Ruby quietly held the whistle as close as she could to the young man's ear, willing to teach him the meaning of 'no slacking'. She opened her mouth and was about to release the sound of the small device, eager to see the man in front of her collapse to the floor in fright.

A hand shot out quickly and roughly grabbed the whistle from her mouth, pulling it away and causing the string around her neck to snap. Ruby flinched and took a step back at what just happened.

The leader of Team RWBY watched as Shay held the whistle in the center of his palm, glaring at her at the same time. He finally closed his hand, a muffled crack was heard from within; he uncurled his fingers to reveal a shattered plastic whistle now in pieces. The man's palm turned so the broken pieces tumbled off and landed on the carpet.

"Aww, that's the fourth one you broke this week!" she pouted, crossing her arms and turning away from him. She had managed to pull the same trick for the past few days, but Shay finally found a way to handle the situation: break her toys.

"Then don't use it. I can wake up at the exact time when I need to," the Templar said, getting out of bed and began putting on his uniform, causing the girl to walk away from him and stand with the rest of her teammates, who were already up and dressed as well.

"You don't need to wear the conventional uniform all the time, Shay. Most students at Beacon tend to wear their normal attire," Weiss informed, causing the man to give her a confused look, as though she had said something strange.

"I believe you're wrong, Weiss. If I'm mistaken, Yang told me..." Shay's dialogue slowed to a halt as he immediately looked at the blonde girl in front of him, who was doing her best to hold in a laugh, but was failing miserably.

"...Yang, why?" the man's eye twitched furiously, his hands clenched tightly as his hidden blades were itching to pierce flesh.

"I knew you didn't like the Beacon uniform, that's why," she answered, smirking playfully. Shay managed to finally calm down and not gut the yellow-haired girl.

The rest of the team then watched as Shay removed the uniform in a slightly violent sort of way before opening up the box at the foot of his bed to reveal his original outfit: the same one when the five first met. Black and red with pockets, pouches, and straps adorning his suit; each of them meant to hold different weapons and several pieces of equipment.

Shay turned to face the four girls before him, spreading his arms apart as though he was waiting for them to judge him on his appearance.

"Cool!" Ruby gave him a thumbs up.

"Unusual, but efficient," the raven-haired girl said.

"Awesome," Yang nodded in approval.

"Sloppy," Weiss deadpanned.

The Templar raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms in amusement, looking at the only pessimistic one in the group.

"Hey, I make this look good," he protested, grinning lightly as he turned on his heels and began walking to the locker room to collect his weapons. He turned to see the others follow him with the intent of doing the same.

"I was just expressing my own opinion," the Heiress defended, raising an eyebrow as he then looked at her.

"You've done that several times, including before our first day as a team and after," Shay responded with a straight face, but knew that Yang was grinning evilly behind them, while Blake raised an eyebrow in amusement, and Ruby gave them a look of confusion.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," she sputtered, turning red in frustration before managing to calm down, but her face still a tad bit pink.

"If you insist," the Templar said, walking into the locker room and taking his weapons out of his locker, and closing the metal door once his weapons were removed from the locker.

He heard the girls putting their weapons in their sheathes and closing their lockers. Shay sheathed his sword and dagger, slung his air rifle over his shoulder, and put away his ammunition. The man then took out his pistols and looked at them, contemplating what Weiss had told him and what Pluto had given him during his time in the land of dreams.

But he could not part with these, the same pistols given by Achilles; he was a threat, yes, but it was a gift from the aged Assassin nonetheless. The former Assassin looked down at his guns for only a few more seconds before coming to a conclusion.

Perhaps they _have_ outlived their use.

Ruby turned to see Shay holding the same two pistols in his hands, he lifted his head as he heard the young girl make her way towards him.

"Hey Shay, you okay?" she asked, a concerned expression on her face.

"I'm fine, Ruby... just some old memories," he answered quietly.

"Like what?"

"Nothing, forget about it. Wait, do you think you can help me with something?" he asked. This got the girl's attention.

"Sure, what do you need?"

The young man held up his pistols, the same polished wood and grey metal that had been on the weapon ever since he had received them and when he had arrived on this world.

"Replacements," he said.

Shay watched as Ruby's smile widened in excitement, she grabbed his arm and began walking him into another part of the Academy, where they immediately got to work according to Shay's specifications.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy  
2:33 PM  
Day 12, Friday (Month 9, Year 0)**

As Shay had finally figured out, there was, in fact, a simulation room used for testing one's weapons against holographic opponents rather than students themselves (Ruby had to explain to Shay what 'holographic' meant, but he still seemed a little confused even after a thorough explanation.)

Unlike actual fights, this area was for students who haven't unlocked their aura yet, which is what the Templar needed. The opponents in the simulation did not do permanent damage to the user of the room, they instead fired Stings: darts, false claws, or dull blades coated in dust that was meant to feel like real damage. These battles had a limit though, reaching higher and higher waves of enemies until the program deems that the participant is unfit for battle or until the fighter forfeits from the match.

Shay stood at the center of the room, which so happened to be a large, immaculate, grey square. The walls looked as though they were polished, the floors likewise, the only noticeable feature was a control at the center of the room: grey, like the room itself, but the buttons were colored and simplified to suit even the simplest of requests for a virtual battle. The controls determined the setting of the battlefield, what hostiles will a Huntsman encounter and how tough it will be.

The Templar selected the Emerald Forest, the enemies would be Beowolves, the program was changed so that they will adapt to his fighting style until they are able to match him on equal terms.

After the settings were selected, a long row of machines opened up and began scanning Shay, taking note and gathering data on the weapons he possessed. Once the scan on his equipment was finished, the machines retracted into the wall.

He waited for several seconds before the walls and floor began to slowly grow white, starting at grey before becoming lighter and lighter until it was more white than Weiss's dress if it were soaked in bleach.

 _Wait, why am I thinking of Weiss's dress?_ Shay thought to himself, shaking the image from his head. The former Assassin unsheathed his sword and dagger, ready to face his adversaries.

The light faded until it became a near-perfect representation of the Emerald Forest, he watched as darkness formed from several spots nearby, from the darkness, creatures of Grimm emerged from these holes of darkness: Beowolves.

 **"Round One, Start,"** a voice announced, but Shay had no idea who had said this.

Shay counted three, they growled in rage and charged after him blindly, eager to tear into his flesh.

The first creature swiped at the man with it's claws, but their opponent rolled to the side, bringing up his sword to block another strike from a different Grimm. Shay parried the blow and sliced it's throat with his knife, sidestepping as the next Grimm charged after him, ready to avenge it's fallen sibling, but it was finished off with a stab through the torso. The last Grimm remained, it looked at the man who killed it's comrades and decided to charge at him like the others had.

The Templar took out a rope dart and chucked it into the center of the creature's throat, causing it to grasp at it's neck in pain. The monster tried to slash Shay, but he slid below it's claw and between it's legs, he stuck the other end of the dart into the ground, turned around to face the pained creature and delivered a powerful kick into it's back.

The effect was immediate, the rope dart slid down from the Beowolf's throat and began quickly vivisecting it until the small roped knife reached it's leg.

Were this a real fight, the Beowolf's innards would've spilled onto the forest floor before fading away.

 **"Round One Complete,"** the voice spoke, causing Shay to flinch at the voice suddenly blaring out his apparent victory.

Again, three Beowolves emerged from the darkness, but their bony ridges were more refined and polished, it's black muscles more defined as well, taking on a more powerful appearance. Almost as though they had adapted.

 **"Round Two, Start."**

Shay plucked a smoke bomb from his inventory and tossed it at the creature of Grimm in the middle, he ran forward as the projectile exploded, temporarily blinding the creature. The Templar rushed forward with his sword in hand, jumping high in the air, the blade pointed at it's mouth as it roared in anger.

The sword blade went into the monster's mouth and exited through it's neck, he removed the blade and kicked the Grimm onto the grass, disappearing. He turned to see the second Grimm stalking towards him, observing it's adversary. He turned for only a split second to see another Grimm collide with him, sending him sprawling across the virtual forest floor. Shay grunted in pain, trying to recover from the attack. The creature of Grimm stood before him, inches away from his face, it growled and opened it's maws to consume him and-

 ***SLICE!***

The creature froze and tried to howl in pain, but it looked down to see Shay's arm in it's mouth, his wrist blade piercing the inside of the Grimm's top jaw, a second blade pierced it's neck, finally ending it's apparent misery. Shay shoved the creature's body to the side.

 _They were working together? Interesting..._

As he began to get up, he stuck his hand into the ground and pulled out a mess of grass and dirt. He stood up, his left hand behind his back and his right clutching his sword, his stance taking a more formal appearance.

The Beowolf sniffed then growled at him before charging at him like the rest had before. Shay smirked, he then threw the dirt and grass at the Grimm as it attempted to bum-rush him.

But the Grimm did something different, it ducked before the dirt could reach it's eyes and headbutted the Templar's arm, knocking his sword out of his hand.

Shay narrowly weaved through the Beowolf's assault of claws and teeth. He unsheathed his hidden blades and tried stabbing at it, but even this was futile as it was aware of his blades from Shay's violent encounter with the second Grimm.

 _This one's learning,_ he thought as the opponents tried to get out of this stalemate, as though trying to figure out who was the prey and who was the predator.

The Assassin Hunter leapt back and removed his air rifle, but the virtual Grimm quickly realized what was going to happen, it quickly zigzagged towards him, it's claws stretching out to him, ready to feast on the man's innards.

The Grimm was struck by a grenade, courtesy of Shay. The shards of metal and the explosive fire breached the Beowolf's fur and skin, mangling it's arm until it was nothing but a waste of skin, bone, and sinew.

Shay slung his rifle onto his back and removed his parrying dagger from it's sheathe, observing his new knife: the blade was thicker and two inches longer, the hand guards slightly longer and heavier, balancing both the blade and the hilt .

The monster's eyes were filled with pure rage, the intelligence faded from it's eyes as it charged at him like very other Beowolf before it.

Rather than fight with his new, more oversized knife, Shay flipped the dagger until the blade was pointed at him. At the bottom of the hilt was a small, almost unnoticeable button; once the button was pressed, the hilt of the dagger twisted until it resembled the handle of a gun, the guards extended and shifted, folding out longer and wider, rounding until it formed a cylinder; the blade split in two then reformed with only the sides touching, taking the form of a barrel.

Shay looked at his new weapon, a gun-dagger made by Shay with a little help from Ruby (who only made suggestions on making the gun stronger and more durable, which he decided to listen to). Pluto's process of burning the blueprints into his mind was actually quite figurative as it was literal, the plans were at the back of his mind, as though an itch one could not ignore until it was scratched. As for the gun itself, a weapon called a 'revolver' (as Ruby had explained to him) that could fire six shots before having to reload instead of once, which was both a surprise and an advantage that he could use (before Ruby had given him a thirty-minute lecture on not having to reload after every shot). Even better, the red-haired leader of Team RWBY explained that this type of gun used dust-based rounds rather than metal balls and gunpowder, making it both more accurate, effective, and aerodynamic.

He pulled the hammer on the pistol and fired, watching the gun take action for the first time after painstakingly long periods of trial and error. The bullet traveled into the Beowolf's skull and exited from the back, the creature of Grimm stumbled back and fell onto the forest floor.

 **"Round Two, Complete."**

Shay flipped the gun and watched as it quickly shifted back into his parrying dagger, he walked over to his sword that he had dropped earlier and picked it up, returning the blade to it's sheathe. He watched as the room faded back into the same grey room as before.

 **"Simulation Interrupting, Shutting Down,"** the voice droned out, Shay gave the voice a confused look.

 _Interrupted? By what-_

"That was pretty impressive," he turned to see a certain black-clothed girl standing before him.

"Blake, what're you doing here?" Shay asked, curious as to why she had intruded on his training.

"Duels are going on between Cardin and other students, I got irritated and decided to leave," she responded.

"I assume he's winning every fight?" Shay crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but he's a brute; he victimizes those that he defeats as soon as they are out of Professor Goodwitch's view. So I decided to leave, taking a stroll through the hallways, and just so happened to have stumbled upon you training," she answered.

"Why didn't you just fight him? You seem capable enough," he suggested, pointing to her sword.

"He just wants a reaction. Fighting him out of anger is just something he wants, whether he wins or loses," Blake explained, her eyes downcast.

"I see... do you want me to do something about it?" Shay asked, Blake looked up at him in curiosity.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, immediately regretting it as she watched him unsheathe a hidden blade.

"I can make anyone... disappear, should you request it," he grinned evilly, waving the blade around in suggestion.

Blake's eyes widened as she realized what he was referring to.

"Wait a minute! Cardin's a jerk, but even someone like him doesn't deserve to die!" she protested, but her fears came to a halt as she witnessed him laughing quietly.

"Relax, Belladonna, it was only a joke," Shay said, sheathing the blade with only a flick of his wrist.

"That wasn't funny," she responded, silently fuming.

"...Alright. But out of all the rooms that you could've went to, why go to this one in particular?"

"I was watching you fight through the window," Blake pointed to said window behind her with her thumb. Shay turned to see a six-by-four window right next to the entrance.

"Was that always there?"

"Yup."

"I never noticed," Shay observed, stroking his chin in confusion.

"Neither did I at first, then I just turned and saw you," Blake said, leaving the training room with Shay following behind her.

"Ah, speaking of which, what did you think?" he asked, waiting for her opinion on his form of fighting.

She thought for a minute before answering, "Brutal and imprecise, yet you have a very unique form of fighting at the same time, using every weapon at hand. But despite your unorthodox fighting, I doubt you'll survive a fight against an experienced opponent."

Shay gave her a false pained look and clutched a hand on his chest.

"You wound me, Blake. You really wounded me. I expected to hear those words from Weiss," he groaned before giving her a light smile.

"Well we can't always get what we want," she smirked, her bow twitching slightly as though in synchronization with her amusement.

Shay stopped and gave her a more serious look, "Alright stop."

The raven-haired girl wore a confused expression, "What is it?"

"That bow twitched, I have ignored it for the past week and now it's becoming a serious issue," the Templar said.

Blake's eyes widened in fear, her skin beginning to sweat slightly," I-I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me Blake, I don't appreciate being deceived," Shay growled.

She gulped as she saw that his hand was clenched in annoyance, then she looked into his eyes.

The expression in his eyes can only be described as cold fury, as though he had seen terrible things and was changed by witnessing such atrocities. So she finally gave into his hard stare.

"Can you keep a secret?" she whispered.

"...Yes," Shay answered after several seconds of silence.

Blake sighed, _No point at trying to make an excuse now._

She grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him into an empty room. She walked over to the light and turned it on, the two had to squint their eyes to adjust to the light before finally adapting to the brightness. Shay walked over and pulled up a chair and sat in it with the seat backwards, leaning his arms on the 'back'.

"Alright," she sighed, finally raising her hands to her bow. Blake began to pull at one of the knots before the bow became nothing but a long ribbon.

At first, Shay saw nothing unusual, but a closer look confirmed that something was indeed off with what he was looking at.

A pair of cat ears on top of her head.

"You're a..." Shay trailed off, trying to find the right word. He heard the word when he was on his way to Beacon, when the news played.

"A Faunus," she finished his sentence, her face turning red in shame.

"A Faunus," Shay confirmed, he knew that she was waiting for his judgement, as though she was bracing herself for whatever he was going to tell her.

At first, he was confused as to why she would be ashamed, but then he remembered the faunus that held the 'We're not animals!' sign.

"Can you think?" Blake heard from the Templar.

"What?"

"Can you think? Reason? Pass judgement on something for a good reason?" he specified.

"Yes, but why-"

"An animal acts on instinct, they cannot be reasoned with and will not hesitate to kill a lesser being if they are hungry. That is why I asked you. But you said you _can_ think, and you _can_ reason. Therefore, you are a person, a free individual as normal as I am," he explained.

"But-"

"Stop, Blake. I have also been mocked and insulted based on my own heritage," Shay said.

"But you're human," Blake pointed out, confused as to why he was given prejudice despite his species.

"Aye, that's true. But where I'm from, people like me are judged based on both my heritage and my beliefs," he continued.

"And what heritage is that?"

"I'm Irish," Shay answered.

"What's that?" the black-haired girl asked.

"It's a... nationality. How I spoke and what I believed in was criticized and subjugated to harsh treatment by those around me. You are aware of how I speak, correct?"

"Yeah, it's... unique, not really an accent I've heard before," Blake answered.

"Exactly. Where I'm from, Faunus are nonexistant. So rather than take our anger out on those that possessed traits that were not human, some people were treated harshly based on how they looked and sounded: skin color and heritage is what set us apart, that is why people assumed we were bastardized," he explained.

"...No Faunus?" Blake whispered.

"Aye, never seen a Faunus up close until now."

"But... there's Faunus everywhere on Remnant. Where are you from?" she asked.

"Now that is a secret I will keep to myself," Shay grinned, getting up from the chair.

"But I told you my own personal secret, why not tell me yours?"

"I was able to understand the fact that you are a Faunus, it is a reasonable explanation as to why you wear your bow. As for me? You cannot fathom my own secret, you will think I'm crazy, mad, a lunatic, and a monster. Do you understand?" he asked.

"...Yes," Blake finally answered.

"Good. Now, we have a class together with Port, I believe. Shall we?" Shay asked, opening the door for Blake, who simply nodded and passed through.

The two continued walking in silence for the next five minutes.

"Are you going to..."

"Tell the others? No, but in time, you will; I don't care how long it will take, but you will," Shay said, not bothering to look at her as they continued their walk to the rest of the team.

They continued to walk in silence for the rest of the walk.

 **-Hide in Plain Sight-**

 **Beacon Academy  
12:27 PM  
Day 19, Friday (Month 9, Year 0)**

Blake was right, Cardin Winchester was a bastard.

For the past few days, he had paid more attention to his surroundings and finally saw why Winchester was given his reputation. Of all the people that Cardin picked on, he chose Jaune as his main target.

Now it was a sparring match between Jaune Arc and the one and only Cardin Winchester.

As for how the fight had went on... it was pitiful. Shay could do nothing but cringe as Jaune tried his absolute best to fight the larger man, but was continually beaten until his aura dropped low. He looked to his right to see that Pyrrha was sitting beside him, a mixed look of sadness and anger in her eyes.

The fight was nearly drawing to a close, Jaune would've been bruised and battered by Cardin's attacks were it not for the power of Aura.

Cardin merely laughed at Jaune's tired form. The shorter of the two tried to shake off his fatigue and charge at the brute once more, but Cardin merely sidestepped and smacked Jaune's shield with his mace, sending the shield out of his hand and Jaune sprawling across the flat ground.

He quickly recovered and ran towards Cardin again with his sword in both hands, slamming the blade onto Cardin's mace, which easily blocked the attack. Cardin quickly overpowered Jaune and sent his knee slamming into his abdomen, causing Jaune to crumple to the ground. The larger man raised his mace above his head as though he was going to finish off Jaune, but a buzz sounded out, prompting him to stop.

"That's enough," Professor Goodwitch said, walking to the front of the stage.

"As you can see, Mister Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match," the Professor informed the rest of the students.

"Mister Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat, gauging will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want to be gobbled by a Beowolf, now would we?" she advised.

"Speak for yourself," Cardin responded, swing his mace over his shoulder and walking off.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It's won't be long before students from other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournamnt will be representing all of Vale!" the Professor announced.

Shay turned his head and frowned in confusion to see Yang, Weiss, and Ruby making strange noises while Pyrrha watched with him. He turned to see that the three girls beside both he and Pyrrha held excited expressions of different magnitudes on each of them. It was a little funny even, Shay had thought as a small smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

The bell rang and the students began to leave, Shay watched as Jaune sat down on the far side of the stage, an expression of sadness on his face. He looked to see that Pyrrha had the same expression.

"Hey Pyrrha, go help him," Shay suggested, snapping the girl out of her sadness.

"What-? Oh yeah, thanks," Pyrrha said.

"Not a problem," he said, getting up from his seat and walking to the exit, where Blake was waiting for him, leaning on the side of the exit.

"Now do you see?" Blake asked.

"Aye, Cardin's nothing but a worthless sack of shite. Not just during the battle, but in the halls as well. Any ideas?"

"No killing, that's for sure," Blake smirked lightly.

"Hmph, no promises," Shay grunted, watching as she walked away.

"Hey Shay!" he turned to see the rest of Team RWBY catching up to him, but the voice belonged to Weiss of all people.

"Yes, Miss Schnee?" the Templar asked, curious as to why the girl was standing the closest to him.

"Are you going to attend the Vytal Festival with us?" she asked.

"I would if I knew what it was," Shay explained.

The group went silent for several seconds.

"How could you not know of the Vytal Festival?! Have you been living under a rock all this time!?" Weiss shrieked.

"Yes, assume I've been living under a rock," he answered in a sarcastic tone, but he interrupted her before she could explain what exactly the Vytal Festival was, "but I have to focus right now, tell me when we are in the cafeteria."

"Focus on what?" Ruby asked.

"Things, nothing important for you three. Come on, let's go catch up with Blake," Shay quickly changed the subject, unknowing of suspicious looks that Yang and Weiss were giving him.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 _ **One hour later...**_

"So there we were, in the middle of the night."

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves-"

"DOZENS OF THEM!" Nora screamed, Shay snapped out of his contemplating thoughts. He looked to see Blake reading a book on the far left side of the table, Weiss was filing her nails while sitting right beside him (which is the spot that she chose after Shay sat down. _Strange_ ), Jaune was messing around with his food, Ruby and Pyrrha were also listening as well, but not as much as Yang, who was listening intensely. Shay was paying attention to the hyper girl while eating a sandwich.

"Two of them," Ren corrected.

"But they were no match. In the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora finished.

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now," he sighed.

"Wait, it was a dream?" Shay asked.

"Yup," Nora said, finally taking a bite of the sandwich that she had left uneaten.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha, who was sitting besides the sullen boy, asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, why? he asked.

"You look depressed, Jaune," Shay answered, Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!" he gave a thumbs up and laughed nervously. Shay sighed and placed two fingers between the bridge of his nose in disappointment.

Then something caught his attention, he turned to his right to see Team CRDL taunting and teasing a Faunus student. Shay's right hand clenched into a fist, he looked up to see Blake shaking her head in disappointment.

"Don't," Blake said.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school," Pyrrha explained.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah, he likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!" Jaune defended.

"He's a bully," Ruby deadpanned.

"Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me," the blond-haired boy scoffed.

"He knocked all you books out of your hands," the leader of Team RWBY said.

"He activated your shield just when you were passing through a door, lodging it in the entrance," Blake followed up.

"He stuffed you in your own locker and set the coordinates to a random location," Pyrrha said.

"And that all happened in the same day," Shay finished off.

There was a moment of silence.

"I didn't land far from the school!" Jaune said.

Shay smacked the center of his forehead with his palm in disappointment. How ignorant can this boy be?

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask," Pyrrha assured.

The Templar then watched as Nora got up from the table with a diabolical look in her eye.

"Ooh, we'll break his legs!" Nora screamed.

"I second that," Shay said, smirking evilly, which then disappeared as Nora bear-hugged the larger man, watching as Ren sighed and covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Third," Yang grinned, earning a fist bump from the orange-haired girl.

"Guys really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."

"Ow, that hurts!" Shay turned to see Cardin tugging on the student's rabbit ears.

 _All right, that's it,_ he growled as he took off his gloves and hidden blades and handed them to Yang.

"Why are you giving me these?" Yang asked, perplexed.

"In case I get any ideas," Shay got up from his seat and began making his way to the table where Team CRDL sat.

"Please stop," the girl said as Cardin continued tugging on her ears.

But Cardin only laughed, "I told you it was real!"

"What a freak," said the green-haired team member.

Shay continued making his way to the table, pushing past other students as he did so, not even bothering if he spilled their lunches by accident.

He had only one target in his sights: Cardin Winchester.

The Templar finally made it to the table, he quickly reached over and grabbed Cardin by the wrist and twisted it back, forcing him to let go out of both pain and surprise.

"Wha-" Cardin tried to say as Shay grabbed his tray and smashed it into his head, knocking him out.

"Anybody else!?" Shay yelled at the rest of Team CRDL, pushing the Faunus girl behind him in a defensive way.

The blond-haired member stepped forward and tried to punch Shay in the face, but Shay ducked, pushed the girl out of the line of fire, and punched the boy in the face with a right hook, sending him tumbling backwards and onto the table.

A blue-haired boy then attempted to kick the Templar in the chest, but Shay caught the leg, lifted it high in the air, grabbed the boy by the throat and slammed him onto the ground.

Last was the man with a green mohawk, grabbed a fork as he tried to slash at the man. Shay narrowly dodged each strike before grabbing his wrist, twisted the fork out of his hand and into Shay's own. The Templar kicked the boy onto the ground.

Shay walked over to the boy and raised the fork above his head, aiming for his shoulder.

 _ **Bastards,**_ Shay thought angrily as he prepared to bring the eating utensil down.

"Mister Cormac! I recommend that you stop now!" Shay froze as he turned around to see Professor Goodwitch standing behind him.

"Yes?"

"What do you think you're doing? Explain yourself," she demanded sternly.

"I was simply passing the time with a bit of sport, Miss Goodwitch. If you need any witnesses, ask her," he pointed at the Faunus girl (who was blushing fiercely in embarrassment).

"If you wanted to engage in a duel, Mister Cormac, you should've requested an official sparring match. I _will_ let you off with a warning though; but if you commit another act similar to the one that I have just witnessed, there will be heinous consequences. Am I clear?" she glared at him.

Shay watched as Team CRDL got up from their assault, although their pride was hurt more than they were physically.

"Crystal," he muttered, beginning to walk back to his seat before stopping.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Shay flipped the fork in his hands and threw it at Cardin's feet, who jumped back on instinct. The fork lodged itself into the floor.

"There's your fork back," the Templar replied bitterly as he walked back to the table, very much aware of the fierce(r) glare that the Professor was giving him.

Shay then looked at the Faunus girl, "What is your name?"

"Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina," she hesitated, before looking up at him.

"Well then, Velvet, if you need any help, do not be afraid to speak up," he said before turning around and walking away.

"Thank you," Velvet whispered.

"You're welcome," Shay said as he heard her quiet thanks.

The Templar finally walked back to his table and quietly finished his lunch, also aware of the shocked looks that Teams RWBY and JNPR were giving him.

"How... wha-?" Ruby tried to say, but couldn't think of what to say as Shay put his gloves and hidden blades back on.

"Someone had to take action, so I did," Shay said, getting up from his seat and walking out of the cafeteria with the rest of the table eating in silence.

"Is- is he mad at us?" Pyrrha asked.

"It appears so, I think it's because no one else decided to take action," Ren answered.

"Well, he didn't break his legs, so... it's something," Nora shrugged as she continued to eat.

Weiss stopped filing her nails and looked back at Shay's direction, "...I'll go talk to him."

She got up and left the cafeteria, following him as she did so.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Yang whispered with a hint of mischief in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Oh nothing," the yellow-haired beauty said.

"What did he mean, 'in case I get any ideas'? Jaune asked, wondering why Shay handed Yang his gloves earlier.

"I dunno," Yang lied, but she and Blake were fully aware of the truth.

 **-Stay your Blade from the flesh of the Innocent-**

Weiss continued to follow after Shay, his back fully turned to her as he walked through the hallways.

"Shay!" she yelled, the man stopped walking for a second before turning around and looking her in the eyes.

"Yes, Weiss?"

"I wanna talk to you," she said.

"To talk to me or kiss me again?" Shay asked, watching as her face turned pink for only a second before resuming it's natural color (or lack thereof).

"Shut up. It's about the fight," Weiss answered, knowing she would never live down that kiss (but to her it felt so... _right_ ).

"And? What about it?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Christ... Isn't it obvious, Schnee? Someone was in trouble and I decided to help. Why didn't you or the others help?" he demanded.

"It's against the rules to fight in the cafeteria," she defended, obviously unknown of the irony that would soon happen in the near-future.

"Rules?! Weiss, she was being mistreated! To hell with the rules if I have to follow something such as that," Shay snapped.

"But it's not right-"

"Quiet, Schnee. Now answer me this; what is the better choice? Doing something considered good even if it is against the rules, or doing something seen as 'right' even though something bad is happening?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer the damn question."

"Doing something good," she answered.

"Then why didn't any of you intervene?" Shay demanded.

"I... I don't know," she admitted.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I don't know!" Weiss screamed at him, trying to decided between tearing up or punching him.

Shay didn't know what to say at this point, so he simply shook his head in disappointment and walked off.

"I'll be in our dorm if you need me," he finally said.

Weiss slumped down to the ground similarly to Ruby during their first day of entering Beacon.

She didn't know how to react, what to think of him. The Faunus made her uncomfortable, yes; they were still considered as 'second-class citizens', but Shay ignored that fact and decided to help out of compassion. It was clear to her that he despised prejudice, that everyone was capable of equal opportunity as well as the capability of great evil, Cardin was one such example.

Now her problem was that she and Shay started as bitter enemies for the first two days, then they became friends for the next two weeks.

 _Back to square one,_ she sighed sadly, standing back up and making her way to the cafeteria.

Suddenly an idea popper into her head, but it would have to be when Shay was more interested in talking to people at the time.

Now a little more optimistic, she hurried back to her Team.

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 _ **Later that night...**_

Shay was sound asleep, in a peaceful dreamless sleep. Without any interruption by any deities living in his head.

Weiss opened the door to see that the rest of Team RWBY was asleep as well, she crept over to Shay's bed.

He was lying face-down on the bed, a blanket covering the majority of his body.

The white heiress lifted a finger and lightly poked him on the side of the head, but he didn't move.

She tried again, "Wake up," she whispered, but she heard nothing.

So Weiss poked him in the head a little harder, "Wake up," she raised her voice a little, watching as he stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes.

"Huh?... Weiss? What're you doing?" he asked, tired as he just woke up.

"Get up, I need you to come with me," she commanded.

"Why?"

"Because I said so, you dolt!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down.

"Alright alright, Jesus," he got up and began following her out of the room.

Shay walked on as he was being pulled by the arm to the roof of the building with the alabaster Heiress until they both stopped.

"Okay, now what are you trying to tell me?" Shay asked, irritated by his lack of sleep.

"Well, first off: I wanted to say sorry for... whatever it was that happened in the hallway," she apologized, causing him to groan and cover his face with his hand.

"Weiss, you don't have to apologize, you just didn't know. I wasn't angry at you, I was just upset at Cardin and his lackeys' idiocy. You did nothing wrong, why did you think I was mad at you?"

"I don't know," she smiled sheepishly.

"Again?"

"Shut up, you dunce. You're making this harder than it needs to," she snapped, crossing her arms in irritation.

"Alright then, what else were you going to tell me?" the Templar asked.

"Close your eyes," the Heiress ordered.

"What're you going to do?" Shay asked uneasily.

"Just do it!" she hissed, rolling her eyes.

Resigning to his fate, he did, waiting for what was to happen next. He then felt a hand lightly grab his shoulder, but he still had his eyes closed.

"For it is in pass that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee," Weiss chanted, as though it was quote from a book.

When Shay opened his eyes, he felt... different, in a good sort of way. Like something was happening to him, and he didn't know what it was. He finally looked do to see himself literally glowing, his body enveloped in bright combination of red and blue lights.

 _So this is what Aura feels like? I feel... new,_ was the only thing the Templar could think. It was like being reborn in some sort of way.

The young man flexed his fingers as though it would emit some sort of change, but nothing happened. It seemed that he would have to train with it to become stronger.

He looked back to thank Weiss, but she looked extremely exhausted; her eyes on the verge of closing, her arms hanged limply, and she looked like she was about to collapse.

Even though she currently possessed all the qualities of being tired, she held up a hand to silence him before he could say anything.

"Thank... me... later..." she finally gave in and collapsed in his arms.

Shay was taken aback by both her 'gift' and her current state, but he would have to fix it anyway. Doing so, he picked her up, his left arm and hand under her legs with his right hand cradling bother her neck and shoulder as gently as possible.

He continued to carry the girl in this fashion until- wait... _is she sucking her thumb?!_

Indeed so, the alabaster Heiress, the most professional _girl_ in all of Team RWBY and most likely all of Beacon, was sucking her thumb in her sleep!

"What the fuck?" his thoughts spoke aloud. He removed the thumb from her mouth as she continued to snore softly, knowing that she would never live it down if Yang were to find out.

The Templar opened the door quietly and walked over ot her bed, placing her sleeping form onto the bed, placing a blanket over her after shivering slightly (Ice Queen? Shivering? Ha!).

Shay decided to return to his own bed, once again pulling the blanket over his own body, he looked up to see a shelf next to the door. The new shelf that now held his old pistols in a model display.

His first decoration in the dorm: the pair of flintlocks given by Achilles.

The young man finally closed his eyes.

As for today, it was an... odd turn of events, the man thought to himself as he finally slept.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Holy hell that took a long time to make. Don't worry guys, all my chapters won't take this long to make (hopefully).**

 **This chapter was supposed to be originally centered on kicking Cardin's ass, but I decided to add some more stuff into it; hope you like it! What do you think of Shay's new weapon (it's not a gunblade, but it's close enough!)**

 **If you have any suggestions for the story, PM me and don't be afraid me any questions you want in the Review section.**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter and I'll see ya later folks!**


	8. Chapter 8: Practice

**Q &A:**

 **G Man:** **Shay's not an Assassin, he's a Templar. Besides, it just won't work with one/two other Assassin(s) from centuries before.**

 **Mastermind: Also excited for AC: Syndicate as well.**

 **geoffrey hogue:** **It did glow (red and blue, symbolism FTW!), Shay will get a Semblance (no spoilers there), thank you, thank you, and maybe.**

 **Z2010 Deadmeat:** **HERE YOU GO! (serves next chapter)**

 **Shashenka: Well the thing is... Glynda didn't see the part where Cardin was bullying Velvet, she walked in on Shay kicking the living shit out of Team CRDL at that time, though, so.. yeah.**

 **King** **Edgar: Goddammit Bar- I mean goddammit Edgar!**

 **Kerlongsi Evert Orlejov:** **Thanks!**

 **Jigoku no Yami:** **Also thanks!**

 **If you guys want to submit any ideas to the story or come up with anything else, PM me, I may consider it.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _Shay was an Assassin. He was a friend, a brother._

* * *

 ** _The 'Grimm':_**

 ** _It was there when the Hunter crippled it, forcing itself to flee for the sake of it's own survival; having to learn not to be reckless and charge at it's prey blindly like an impatient pup; to be patient, smart, tactical, cunning like it's former opponent._**

 ** _It watched when the Hunter had landed into it's domain, continuing to watch as the human was resuscitated by the female, even starting to socialize even in the face of danger although they felt disdain towards one another. It was there when he met with the rest of it's pack of humans, continuing to observe the Hunter as it fought alongside it's allies._**

 ** _But it did not attack when the Hunter was at it's weakest, nor did it pick off the rest of it's peers to satiate it's hunger. No, it felt that it should thank it's Hunter for teaching the Grimm not to underestimate it's prey._**

 ** _The Grimm, they were called, labeled as such by those that called them monsters. Claimed to possess no soul, yet were capable of even the simplest of thinking._**

 ** _From contact with the Hunter, it's mind was clear now, remembering the younger humans it has killed over it's comparably short life. Souls, Aura, weapons, huntsmen, huntresses. It's prey and apparent predator possessed order, structure._**

 ** _Unity was what kept the humans alive for so long, a common enemy is what drove them from killing themselves. It, and the rest of it's kin, was the enemy._**

 ** _Humans did not come to these woods often, the exception being to teach their young how to survive against the likes of it's kin. They made such great meals. But the it had neither the patience nor the pride to be picky._**

 ** _Animals posed no threat for the Creatures of Grimm, and the same went for them. But there came a time when one must do anything in it's power to survive, even killing those that posed no harm to it._**

 ** _It continued clutching the dead wolf in it's claws, the majority of it's body mangled as it continued to be consumed by it's darker illegitimate relative._**

 ** _But the Grimm did not have the time nor the patience to be a picky eater, it needed blood, and the blood of an animal would have to do._**

 ** _With it's mind clear, it knew of the word 'Soul'. Picking up parts of speech from the prey that died at it's claws, teeth, and ferocity._**

 ** _It looked back at the stump, the area where the Hunter had hacked off it's arm with his blade, watching as more skin and muscle began to grow and build upon the stump._**

 ** _Grimm possessed no souls, therefore no Auras. That's why they chose to hunt down humans, for their own Auras, but animals were capable of generating an Aura._**

 ** _The Aura from the wolf, for example, that was slowly, but surely, regenerating it's lost arm._**

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 **Beacon Academy  
7:00 AM  
Day 26, Friday (Month 9, Year 0)**

Ruby was about to find out how unforgiving Shay was capable of being, just how cruel and unrelenting he could become if he was given the opportunity.

At first, she was dreaming. Dreaming of flying in a world made of food, giant chocolate chip cookies the size of her bed, and... strawberries (she was drooling at the mouth in her dream and in reality from her vivid imagination).

Sadly for her, the dream was crushed, shredded, shattered, burned, and tossed into a metaphorical waste basket as she woke up to a shrill, loud, and annoying sound. The young red-haired girl screamed in pure fright as she tumbled off the bed and landed on her back with a hard thud.

She flicked open her eyelids, trying to remove the drowsiness from her mind and blurred vision. Ruby looked up to see the only boy in her team standing before the other three members, who were just waking up from the sound as well.

Yang's eyes were bloodshot and wide open from the disruption of her 'beauty sleep'. Blake clutched tightly at her bow for some reason as she continued to squirm on her bed from the sound of the noice, while Weiss was just plain irritated.

"Impressive, it actually does work. Thank you Ruby," Shay smirked, dangling a stainless steel whistle between his fingers.

"Dammit Shay, why don't you let us sleep?" Yang moaned in annoyance as she collapsed back on her bed, groaning even more as Ruby held out the Swear Jar in front of Yang.

"Five Lien, now," the youngest of the team demanded, watching as Yang pulled out a small wad of money and tossed it in the jar. Ruby put the jar back under Weiss' bed and sat back at the foot of her own bed.

"Consider this payback, **_madam_**. You used that blasted whistle on me, I'm merely returning the favor," he mockingly bowed his head for a second before returning the whistle to his pocket.

"Ugh fine, what time is it anyway?" the yellow-haired girl asked, flopping back onto her bed.

"It is around seven o' clock," Shay said, looking at a golden pocket watch he pulled out from one of his pockets before putting back it to it's original location.

"WHAT! Seven! Why wake us up at seven of all the times?! We can still get an extra hour of sleep!" Weiss screamed, her face turning red in rage.

"Because, Snow Angel, I think it is appropriate that we perform more physical training before we get to our classes," the Templar explained, earning a slight blush from Weiss as he called her by one of her many nicknames.

 _Snow Angel? Doesn't Jaune usually call her that? Huh, what a coincidence,_ Ruby thought, confused by the man's choice of words.

"I think I can use some _**physical training** _ from you, Shay," Yang purred, unknowingly earning a harsh glare from Weiss, slowly walking up to the man, but was stopped by a raised hand.

"Shut up, now get up and get dressed. Meet me in the courtyard as soon as you are finished," he commanded, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him as soon as he finished his sentence.

"He's not serious, is he?" Weiss asked, narrowing her eyes at the spot where the Templar had once stood.

"He agreed to me daring him to jump out of a window. So yeah, he's pretty serious," Yang explained, getting off her bed and stood alongside her fellow teammates.

"When did that happen?!" Ruby demanded, she wanted to see that too!

"Let's just not talk about it," Blake responded flatly.

The four girls stood in silence for a few seconds before they realized that he was actually serious on this matter. The girls of Team RWBY quickly undressed from their pajamas and put on their combat attire before running to catch up with the man.

"Wait for us, Shay!" Ruby shrieked as the rest of the team ran to the locker rooms to retrieve their weapons; they then continued to make a beeline to the courtyard as they dodged and weaved through the academy's many hallways and constant obstacles before exiting the school and standing before the man, the four nearly crashing into each other as they tried to form a straight horizontal line in a military-like fashion before standing in a more casual manner.

"Why are we even agreeing to this?" Weiss asked, waiting for an answer from the Templar that was standing in front of them as though he was a highly authoritative figure.

"A colleague of mine told me 'By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail', so that's what I'm doing, my good teammates. Preparing you in similar fashion to what I was taught. So that you will be prevented from failing," he explained, once again quoting his old friend Benjamin Franklin. His quotes had helped the man during his brief time as Templar Master of the American Rite.

"What did you have in mind?" Blake asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"From what I've seen in this academy, my own form of training would be considered... unorthodox," Shay answered.

"Like what?" Ruby asked as well.

"First off, the first exercise will be a test of stamina," he explained.

" **Oooooohhh Myyyyyy!** " Yang spoke aloud in a strangely deep voice, grinning widely as well, causing everyone except Shay and Ruby to blush wildly. Ruby was confused by Yang's comment while Shay was most certainly not amused.

"Keep it up Yang, keep it up," it was Shay's turn to grin now, causing the other four to become rather uncomfortable.

They were unaware that this was going to be the longest hour of their life.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

The four girls' muscles felt like they were burning as they continued to follow after the young man in front of them.

For the next fifteen minutes, they were forced to be lead by, and keep up with, their personal 'tutor' in what seemed like a jogging run from Hell, with Shay being the Devil. Having to run nonstop around the courtyard, unbeknownst of Headmaster Ozpin watching them from above the tallest tower of Beacon.

Ruby felt like she was about to collapse from exhaustion, usually she would be perfectly comfortable with taking part in an activity such as this, but that ease of comfort shattered to pieces after she was told not to use semblance or aura; but at least she was faring better than Ice Queen.

Weiss, on the other hand, almost _did_ faint in exhaustion, both with the fact that she relied on her glyphs to move at a similar speed to Ruby (now that was taken away from her as well) and that Ruby actually relied on physical movement to use her semblance, while Weiss just needed a direction and would be moved in said direction; also the fact that she had been wearing high heels all this time, which were, by the way, terrible to use when it came to running for this long.

Blake was keeping a moderate pace with the man, neither going above nor below average speed, but knew that she could move even more faster than the only man on their team. She was merely conserving her energy for when it would come of later importance.

As for both Shay and Yang, they both kept up at equal speeds while standing side by side, neither of them breaking a sweat even after ten minutes of intense jogging nonstop. The blonde-haired beauty merely turned her head and winked at the man as she started moving at a more faster pace than him. He merely sneered in humor as he quickened his pace as well. Unknown to the two runners, the other three stopped behind them to catch a break.

"Why?!" Ruby's knees gave in as she collapsed onto the grass, sweat seeping from her pores and soaking the green flora below her.

"This was the worst idea ever... of all time," Weiss said as she nearly stumbled onto the grass, next to the red-haired leader.

They turned to see Blake sitting on a bench, reading a book as light sweat ran down the sides of her face, clearly showing some signs of exhaustion.

"Blake, where'd you get the book?" Ruby asked.

"I've been carrying it ever since we left the room," she answered, turning another page as she continued to read her book.

"Oh... okay," Ruby said, weakly pushing herself off the ground, pulling Weiss up by the arm, who had finally fainted, and setting her on a nearby bench.

After several more minutes passed, they caught sight of Yang and Shay coming back for another lap of running (somehow this went from being a training exercise to becoming a race between the two apparent rivals). As soon as they reached the rest of the group, they slowed down to a halt with Yang quickly leaning over to try and catch her breath after the adrenaline in her body began to wear off, while Shay looked as though he was perfectly fine, despite a few couple beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"Are you three finally exhausted?" he raised an eyebrow in disappointment while grinning mischievously.

"Very!" Weiss yelled, suddenly waking up from the hellish excuse for training.

"The pain! It's too much!" Ruby whined as she tried to get up, only for her legs to give way and nearly fall over before being caught in mid-fall by Yang.

"Easy there, little sis, it'll be okay," she assured, helping her sister to her feet.

"Yang's right, this is only practice. The full extent of this training will begin on Monday," Shay warned, today was Friday, so they had only the next two days to look forward to.

"You mean we have to run every day for the rest of all four school years?!" Ruby shrieked in realization.

"Not on weekends, no," Shay reassured, receiving a sigh of relief from most of the group.

"At least it can't get any worse than this," Weiss said, her hand immediately shot to her mouth in realization as to what she just said, feeling the white-hot intense glare from every girl on Team RWBY.

"Besides running, you will have extra practice in using your weapons as well as more of my form of training; climbing for example," he informed, pointing at the top of Beacon Academy.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute... you're actually considering climbing to the top of the academy?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Eventually. We all climbed up a cliff. It's not impossible to climb up a building."

"...Touche."

"Well-" Shay clapped his hands together, "This has been... quite the morning. We'll just get back to our rooms and get an extra one and a half hour of sleep."

"That is the best idea that has occurred all morning," Weiss mumbled as she got up from her seat and grabbed onto the arm sleeve of Shay's jacket as soon as she felt the weakness in her own knees from the exhaustion.

Although they were fully capable of activating their Aura and rejuvenating their tired muscles, they contently decided to return to their dorms completely fatigued, knowing that their current states would help them fall asleep easier (which was proven correct). But something had gone unnoticed by the rest of the team, as thought Shay's training had both improved them somewhat and brought them closer as a team in some way, shape, or form.

For the next hour-and-a-half hour, the four girls spent the rest of the day in their beds taking a quick snooze, to let their Aura finally act on it's own will. Shay, on the other hand, spent his own limited time writing in a journal that he had kept for a long time, recording all his experiences on Remnant onto a little red book kept in one of the pockets of his outfit, writing his experiences in each page per week, summarizing his tale of living in this new land, Remnant; where students are taught to fight dangerous monsters and keep the peace in a school called Beacon Academy.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 _ **Later that day...**_

Now that Shay had an Aura thanks to Weiss, he now had the privilege to engage in sparring duels between the other students. Allowing to him to test his strength against opponents made of real flesh and blood rather than just holographic projections that only appeared to look and feel real.

So who was assigned to fight Shay during his first ever match? Why, Cardin Winchester of course. Shay felt like he deserved what was to come during this match.

The match was held in the same arena where that Jaune and that lout had fought earlier, where Jaune had lost and was utterly defeated by the same man that Shay was about to spar against.

Professor Goodwitch was the one who was watching over the match, making sure that no unfortunate mishaps would occur in the upcoming fight.

The Templar was forced to used a safety layer over his sword and dagger, rendering them nonlethal; as well as switching the ammunition for his revolver pistol with nonlethal bullets, along with being restricted using his hidden blades, throwing knives, and air rifle (by his own choice, not that everyone else was aware of his **hidden** blades).

Shay unsheathed his sword, testing the weight of the blade with a few practice swings before pointing the bastard sword at said bastard.

Cardin rushed after the Templar with his mace raised above his head, hoping to make quick and easy work of his opponent. But this was not the case, Shay immediately rolled to the side as soon as the mace was swung, easily dodging the attack but was thrown back by a sudden explosion erupting from the mace, sliding across the floor before quickly recovering from this sudden attack.

He watched as Cardin sneered from the surprise attack, Shay unsheathed his dagger and switched it to it's pistol form, firing shots at the larger man. The some of the bullets never reached their target as they were easily blocked by the young man's oversized medieval weapon as he quickly closed the gap between him and the Assassin Hunter, shrugging off any other shots that hit him.

Shay braced himself as he took a hit from Cardin's mace, which flung him several metres away. The pain was terribly excruciating, but brief as his Aura quickly repaired the damages done to his body. He got back up with the help of his sword.

From his observation, Shay could tell that Cardin was able to wield his mace with one hand, meaning that he was either incredibly strong, or that it was much less heavier than it looked. Despite the ease of use, Cardin fought in a somewhat slow and imprecise fashion, despite being able to quickly block his shots, so Shay's only advantage was to fight with speed and precision.

With that conclusion, he tossed his sword aside and shifted the dagger into his other hand. This time, Shay ran towards his enemy, watching as Cardin was preparing to wind up another devastating strike, so he had to time this right; too soon and Cardin gets the idea of where Shay was going to strike, too late and Cardin will again hit him with another devastating attack.

Shay ducked and slid as soon as Cardin swung, the Templar slashed at the boy's right knee, causing him to kneel down as a result. The former Assassin quickly got up and kicked the man on the side of his skull, causing him to stumble and fall over onto his back.

Before Winchester could recover, Shay shifted his parrying knife into it's pistol form again, took aim, and fired several shots at point blank range into the boy's chestplate until the buzzer rang, prompting him to stop firing his pistol and end the duel.

"And the winner for today's last duel is Shay Cormac," the Professor announced, the students proceeded to applaud Shay as he had bested the school bully in a one-on-one fight. Shay looked up to see that his Aura meter was ranging at thirty-three percent while Cardin was lowered below ten percent, most of the damage likely done by the close shots by Shay's gun. But despite his victory, it was only his wits and luck that kept him from defeat.

The Templar bowed respectfully as he went back to pick up the rest of his weapons, putting them back in their rightful locations. Shay looked back to see Cardin getting up from the fight, the only thing actually wounded was his pride; watching as the mace-wielder shot him an intense glare before turning back to the rest of his team.

As he began to walk back to his own team, he received compliments and other words from the crowd for winning in the sparring match.

"Hey, nice one with the gun, dude," one of them said

"Freaking awesome!" another spoke.

"Nice going, almost thought you would've lost there," were some of the comments that he had heard, but Shay ignored them anyway.

Finally, he caught up with Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Good job, Shay," Pyrrha congratulated the Templar, slugging him in the shoulder playfully, causing him to take a step back as he almost stumbled but managed to hold his ground.

"You're pretty good. But you could be better," Ren informed, Nora merely shrugged her shoulders and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah... that was pretty cool," Jaune said meekly, scratching the back of his head with his right hand in slight embarrassment, remembering how he was beaten by Cardin the first time they fought, with his left resting on the collapsed shield he was holding onto.

"Well now that that's all said and done, can we _please_ just go to our next class? The previous fight was supposed to be our last, but Cardin _**insisted**_ that he wanted to fight you," Weiss huffed as she got up from her seat and walked away.

"He was angered by both the incident where he stole my rifle and I nearly crushed his nose into a bloody stump, and when I decided to defend that Faunus girl by smashing his tray over his head and taking on the rest of his group of lackeys. I would call it... rubbing salt into his still-healing wounds," Shay explained.

"That was still pretty funny," Yang giggled as she picked up the rest of her supplies.

"I know, I get it. Now can we please go?" Ice Queen's left eye twitched in irritation.

"Alright, next is... Oobleck?"

"Yup. Let us depart, Team RWBY!" Ruby dramatically pointed at the assumed direction of Oobleck's class while holding a map of the school in her other hand

Blake rolled her eyes and walked over to Ruby, took the map from her hand and flipped it over, placing it back in her hand.

"Umm... that way!" Ruby yelled, pointing in the opposite direction.

"We've been here for more than three weeks and you still don't know where the professors' class is?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't judge me!" Ruby nearly screamed as she continued to walk to the actual path to Oobleck's class, followed by the rest of her teammates giving off their own signs of mock annoyance as they caught up with the girl.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

Three things seemed to baffle Shay as he continued to listen to Oobleck's lecture on history.

First was the messy mane of green hair that stuck out from all ends, was he born with that color? Quite possibly, seeing as Shay was still new to Remnant in some way. Second was the unbelievable amount of words that was capable of pouring out of his voice without even once stuttering. Third, which was the most baffling, was the speed at which the Professor could move, seeming to move from one place to another faster than the blink of an eye. By the young man's guess, the source of his power emanated from the cup of coffee that he held in his right hand.

One other thing is that Shay was now reluctantly forced into the same Beacon uniform thanks to a near Class Dress Code Policy violation, with students only being allowed to be out of uniform when they are not in the middle of a class, the only exception being during a sparring match. Luckily, he was let off with a warning.

"-Yes, yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie," despite the man's quick ramblings, Shay managed to actually pay attention to the Professor, unlike some people who were _sleeping in class_. He had the sudden urge to flick something to wake up Jaune, but it seemed that he will have to learn on his own.

"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" he stopped and took a long sip from his cup.

"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Oobleck asked the students. Shay looked to his right, where Velvet sat next to him. She seemed hesitant, but the Templar tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to look at him.

"It's alright," he quietly reassured, the rabbit Faunus closed her eyes and nodded slowly, then proceeded to raise her hand.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students: it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence," the green-haired professor informed the students, stopping for a second to take another sip from his cup of coffee.

"I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang. Now! Which one of you young scallions can tell me what may theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" he asked the students, to which a hand was raised.

"The battle at Fort Castle!" Shay heard Weiss answer in a somewhat cocky tone.

"Precisely, and who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

"Hey!" he heard Jaune shout.

"Mister Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?" the Professor, who quickly appeared in front of Jaune (how did he do that!?), demanded from the young boy.

"Uhh... the answer... the advantage... of the Faunus..."

At the exact same time, Shay and Velvet both leaned their right elbows to one side, the left arm resting perpendicular to it's opposite, with their right hand pinching the bridge of their noses in disappointment at what they were just witnessing.

What were they witnessing? A crash, burn, and _failure_.

"Uhh... Binoculars!" Jaune answered eagerly, but was wrong entirely.

At that moment in time, Shay nearly slammed his head down into the desk in near-humiliation, despite not being a part of what everyone had just witnessed. Velvet, on the other hand, simply smacked the center of her forehead with the palms of her hands.

"Y-you felt that too?" she asked, the Templar merely lifted his head and slowly nodded grimly toward her.

"Fremdschamen at it's finest," the Faunus girl commented as she buried her face into her hands again in embarrasment.

"Very funny, Mister Arc! Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!" Oobleck shouted, who was now behind his desk.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin replied, earning a head shake of disapproval from the Professor.

"Arse," Shay muttered under his breath, to which Velvet heard and giggled lightly.

"The answer is night-vision, we can see almost perfectly in the dark," she whispered to Shay, who only gave a look of surprise before giving a slight nod to her.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" he heard Pyrrha ask.

"What, you got a problem?" the leader of Team CRDL demanded.

"If I may interrupt-"

"Ah! Mister Cormac! I may ask, do you have the answer to this seemingly difficult question?" the Professor asked, shooting a look at both Jaune and Cardin.

"Yes sir, from what a good friend of mine has told me. The answer is night-vision," Shay answered, listening in satisfaction as Cardin growled at him in frustration.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured," Blake carried on the answer, then turning to face Cardin.

"Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure," she finished, Cardin got up from his seat in anger before having to sit down.

"Mister Winchester, please take your seat."

The former Assassin turned to see Jaune laughing as Cardin was told off by the Professor, but he knew it would be cut short.

"You and Mister Arc can see me after class for additional readings," Oobleck took another sip from his cup.

"Aww..." Jaune groaned.

"Now! Moving on! After the defeat of General Lagune, the Faunus forces then negotiated-" Oobleck began to trail off before looking at the clock.

"Oh my goodness! It seems that class is almost finished! Remember, there will be a quiz on this very subject! Be sure to study and prepare for what is to come tomorrow, class dismissed!" the Professor finally yelled, zooming off to his desk to refill his cup of coffee.

The Templar proceeded to get up from his seat and began to leave the classroom with Velvet and the rest of Team RWBY following closely behind.

"Velvet, don't you have a team of your own?" he suddenly decided to ask.

"Yeah, I do, but I'm spending more time working on my own personal weapon before I can work with the rest of the team. Perhaps I can show you after I'm finished with it," the Faunus girl proposed.

"I'd like that, thank you," Shay nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright... I guess I'll see you later," she said, walking ahead of him and out of sight.

"So who was that?" Weiss asked as the rest of the team caught up with him, though her curiosity sounded a bit forced, her voice sounding more demanding than it normally should.

 _Is that jealosy I smell?_ Yang thought as she grinned evilly.

"The girl that was bullied by Cardin, I was just sitting next to her and keeping her company," Shay shrugged his shoulders as they continued walking.

"Huh, I didn't take you for the comforting, I-feel-your-pain type of guy," Yang teased.

Shay pointed a knife-hand at the yellow-haired girl, "Just this once, Xiao Long, just this once."

Now that class was officially over, the five continued to converse with one another as they made their way to their dorms once again.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 _ **Evening...**_

For once, Shay decided not to fall asleep faster than the rest of his teammates. Instead, he sat in the armory, his sword leaning against his knee and his hand sliding a whetstone against the double-edged blade.

Every now and then, a blade needed such a small, almost irrelevant-looking tool to keep it sharp and it's holder alive. The blade is able to keep it's edge thanks to something that looks as though it would never belong with the affairs of making a weapon, but it still managed to serve a purpose anyway.

After it was finished, he set the sword next to him on the same bench he was sitting on and moved onto his dagger, grinding the stone against the knife as the dullness in it's edge began to fade, looking as though it was just made by a blacksmith. Shay spun the knife in his hand is it shifted into it's pistol form. He then pulled out a rag and began cleaning the more important parts of the gun, because like any other piece of ranged weaponry, he knew that caution must be taken so nothing goes wrong.

The Templar spun the pistol into it's knife form and set it back into it's sheathe, took off his gloves and hidden blades and began working on any possible abnormalities in their function, as well as sharpening the blade and cleaning the inner workings of the gauntlets.

"Shay?" he looked up to see Pyrrha standing at the doorway, still in her uniform.

"Yeah?" Shay asked, standing up from the bench and removing any grime and muck from his hands before quickly putting on his gloves and hidden blades.

"Do you think you can help me with something, well... **someone**?"

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, the thing is that both you and Jaune carry swords incapable of transforming into alternate forms. Am I correct?" her eyes lowered down to the blade resting in it's sheathe.

"Aye," Shay confirmed.

"Both of you possess Aura, but no Semblance as of yet?"

"Yes. What're you getting at?" the Templar raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Since both you and Jaune possess a similar fighting style, yet yours is more... refined. Do you think you can help me train Jaune to become a better fighter?" she asked.

Shay was surprised by this question. Though he may have been the Grand Master of the Templars shortly after Haytham's death, he never actually _trained_ anyone before (he usually left the training to the recruiters of the Cause).

But to be asked to help train a boy who has little to no experience in the art of combat, this was something very new to him.

"What do I have to do?"

"Just observe and see if you can point out anything that he should or shouldn't do during our training," Pyrrha explained.

"So you want me to just watch and help point out things that you don't see in the training?" Shay asked.

"That's the gist of it."

"And you couldn't find anyone better to ask?"

"No, you and Jaune possess identical weapons and fighting styles, you were the most likely candidate. I would've gone and helped Jaune by myself if you were any more different."

"Wasn't I informed that you won several tournaments to get into Beacon?"

"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to ask for help. But if you should refuse, I will respect your decision."

"I understand, where is Jaune?"

"He's waiting by our dorm," she finished, awaiting an answer from the young man.

"Well we shouldn't keep him waiting, let's go," Shay said, earning a warm smile from Pyrrha as she nodded and lead the way.

He caught sight of Pyrrha picking up the pace until Jaune caught sight of Shay.

"Oh, hey Sha- GAH!" Jaune managed to say before he was being pulled by the arm by Pyrrha.

The Templar followed the pair until they reached the roof, where they stood at the edge of the building.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed. I can always be a farmer or something..." he said, looking over the edge.

It took a minute for Shay to realize what Jaune was referring to, "That's not why Pyrrha brought you here," he said as Pyrrha quickly pushed him away from the ledge.

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... Shay and I want to help you," she explained to the boy.

"What?"

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother the three of us," she elaborated.

"You guys think I need help?" he asked, scratching the top of his head.

"N-no! That's not what I meant."

"But you said it," Jaune pointed out.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Pyrrha exclaimed, then looked at the other man, waiting for his own opinion.

"Listen Jaune, no one is born with the ability to fight, you must learn to. Even the most meek and frail of people can be capable of becoming warriors. Did you think I became a fighter the moment I was born? What about Pyrrha? Ruby? ...Nora? What about them? Did you think they immediately knew what it took to be able to learn their styles of combat?" he asked the young man.

"No, but... I just don't belong here," Jaune mumbled.

Shay growled in response before turning to face Pyrrha.

"If all that we're going to do is talk and complain about the inability to fight, then you are putting yourself down in the process," and with that, he quickly turned and walked away.

"Talk to me when he is actually ready to learn," he said darkly, unaware of the defeated looks in Pyrrha and Jaune's eyes as the aggravated Templar went back inside, listening as the muffled arguments continued as he proceeded to place his weapons back in his locker and make his way to Team RWBY's dorm, deciding that he was done for the night.

 _Jaune, you thick-headed bastard. Do you not see that you need help? And that Pyrrha, the... "Invincible Girl" is offering to actually help you?!_ He thought to himself as he opened and closed the door, flopped onto his bed, and fell asleep soon after.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Alright, three things I have to inform you of:**

 **1\. Pyrrha and Shay's training of Jaune will actually play an important role in the story, _specifically this story_.**

 **2\. Pay very close attention to the words when Weiss unlocks Shay's Aura in the previous chapter, " -and by _my_ shoulder, protect thee." , what do you think is going to happen at this point.**

 **3\. Along with this fic, I may be working on another fic since I currently have the idea in my head, but I wanna know you guys' opinion:  
**

 **The Idea: Our much-loved cat-eared Faunus, Blake Belladonna, waking up in another world with a certain bat-eared caped crusader transporting a certain Clown Prince of Crime to a certain place that is bound to go wrong in more ways than one: Arkham Asylum (also known as the first choice as my place for retirement).  
**

 **So yeah, that's the idea. Review and/or PM on what you guys think of this crossover idea (and yes, I immensely loved Batman: Arkham Knight).**

 **And finally, if you guys have any ideas for this story that you would want to share, just PM me; _I might just listen to you._**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter and goodbye folks!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Knight and the Hunter

**VERY IMPORTANT NEWS:** **All right ladies and gentlemen, I have good news for you guys. The first chapter to my new story,** **Belladonna and the Bat: Asylum** **(a Batman: Arkham Asylum and RWBY crossover story)** **, has just been released. Be sure to check it out after this, or before, whatever works for you.**

* * *

 **Onto the Q &A:**

 **King Edgar:** **(Holds up spray bottle labeled 'Edgar' and sprays) Bad Edgar! Bad!**

 **anonymo:** **Spoilers, and no.**

 **gostrow:** **Thanks, also good idea.**

 **welcometodalolz:** **You'll see in this chapter.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov:** **It depends on the definition on the word 'Harem', since the meaning can be a little... blurry. In terms of romance, no. If Shay is to be paired between anyone, it'll be just one person. In non-romantic terms, well... he _is_ the only guy on Team RWBY.**

 **If you guys have any ideas for this story, PM me.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _I had such hopes for you, Shay..._

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
8:37 AM  
Day 29, Monday (Month 9, Year 0)**

It was another normal morning in Vale, the sun shining, people rising from their beds, getting ready and going to work; the News reporting of Grimm attacks on different villages from outside the four kingdoms and the White Fang preaching their hate against humanity.

It was all normal.

 _All normal indeed._

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YANG!" a furiously blushing Weiss screamed down the hallways as she chased after the blonde-haired girl, who was sporting a victorious grin on her face.

"You'll never take me alive!" Yang yelled as she easily outran the Heiress who was far behind her, her latest plan a success, as she could tell by Weiss's mood.

"That's the point!" she heard Shay yell. Now realizing that the man had finally taken part in the chase, she had a real reason to run.

Still, what she just pulled off was freaking **hilarious**.

Yang ran out of the Academy and dove behind a large oak tree before they could see her, watching seconds later as Shay emerged from the school with Weiss grabbing onto his arm to keep up with him, panting in exhaustion before catching her breath and straightening her posture.

"Where is she!?" Weiss screamed as she pulled out _Myrtenaster_.

"Calm down, Ice Queen," Shay commanded as he laid his hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to... **_chill_ ** out (Yang snickered at her pun).

She glared at the man for using her most hated nickname before realizing the situation at hand, she sheathed her rapier and sighed before looking up at him with a look of annoyance.

"Fine, how do we find this dunce? Do we just wait it out or something?" she asked, clearly irritated by the blonde's shenanigans.

"No, it's hard to find someone when you're acting purely on instinct, Weiss. You have to rely on your training and be _smart_ ," Yang gulped as she felt a blade pressed against her neck as soon as the Templar emphasized the word 'smart'. She turned her head to see Shay holding the sword to her throat as his eyes glared daggers into her own. He quickly removed the sword from her neck and sheathed it.

"How'd you find me?" she asked with an astounded look on her face.

"I've never seen a tree with yellow hair growing out of it. Call it a hunch," the Templar shrugged before giving her a cold look.

"I believe you owe us an explanation, miss Xiao Long," he said as Weiss walked over to his side, her glare rivaling Shay's own as it was directed to her as well.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, can you please explain?" Yang laughed nervously as she tried to back away, only to feel her back press against the tree.

"You know what we're referring to, Yang," Weiss growled as she laid a hand on her sword.

"What?" she asked innocently, subconsciously gulping in fear.

"Quit stalling," Shay growled.

"I'm not stalling."

"Yes you are, now come with us to the dorm so you can explain why Ruby is going to have nightmares of me trying to kill you in your sleep," Weiss ordered. Shay, who was standing behind Ice Queen, raised his wrist to eye level again, bringing up the same memory from weeks before.

Yang raised her arms in defeat, "Alright alright, sheesh. I'll go with you guys."

"Good, now was that so hard?" Shay smirked mischievously as he lowered his hand.

"Yes, since Ice Queen here wanted to stick me with that white toothpick of hers and you actually complied with her," she deadpanned.

"Don't call me that," Weiss huffed as she turned around and walked back to the Academy.

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

 _ **Ten minutes earlier...**_

The sun was barely up, Weiss was snoozing peacefully on her bed, laying on her side with her hands below her head for comfort.

All of a sudden, she felt something tickle against her shoulder. Weiss unconsciously waved it off with her hand as she continued to sleep.

Seconds later, the same tickling feeling intensified, prompting her to groan in irritation as she turned to her other side. But even then, she felt something hard pressed against her forehead.

With all the things that were interrupting her sleep, she slowly began to wake up. Her eyes began to open, blinking slowly as her vision began to focus and become clear on what she was seeing.

 _Shay._

She grinned slightly before yawning, her arms stretched over her head on reflex before closing her eyes and falling asleep, her arms wrapping around him as she snuggled up to him for warmth.

 _Wait a minute!_

Weiss' eyes immediately shot open in horror at what she was looking at: the face of the only guy on Team RWBY, Shay Patrick Cormac. Her forehead and nose lightly pressed against his own.

 _ **SHAY!?**_

What made matters worse was the fact that _her_ body was pressed against **his** and _her_ hands were wrapped around **him**. To make it even worse was that her panicking began to stir him back into the waking world.

Shay opened his eyes, only to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring into his.

 _Please let this just be one of **those** dreams!_ Weiss thought in fear as her hand slowly made it's way to her other arm.

She pinched her arm as hard as she could, watching as those warm brown eyes gave off a confused expression.

No, this was real. Very, **very** real.

They laid in silence for the next few seconds before Weiss screamed in terror as she clumsily fell off the bed with another shriek, landing on her back with a thud.

"Weiss, what're you doi-"

"Don't you ' _Weiss_ ' me, Shay! What the heck are you doing in my bed?!" she demanded as she stood back up, blushing heavily.

"What do you mean? This is my bed," Shay said, motioning to the bed that he was currently laying on.

Upon closer inspection, Weiss immediately felt like an idiot. The bed was in the center of the room, meaning that the bed she was previously laying on belonged to him.

"Well how in the world did I get to your bed?" she asked, crossing her arms as she tried to think through the mess of incidents that had just occurred in the last minute.

Shay then grimaced as he turned his head to the left side of the room, Weiss gave him a confused look before turning and immediately mimicking his expression.

On the left side of the room laid Yang, sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, her Scroll held up and pointed at them in one hand, and a white feather (so _that's_ what was tickling Weiss!) in the other. They watched as tears formed around her eyes as she tried to hold in the laughs that were trying to escape from her.

Eventually, it failed.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... pfft- HAHAHAHA!" she tossed her head back and laughed maniacally, clutching her sides as she nearly fell off the bed. The two victims watched as Yang's tears flowed freely in pure humor as she continued laughing.

"Heh heh, the look on you guys' faces! Priceless!" she yelled in between laughs.

Yang watched as Shay quickly looked to Weiss and nodded, she then responded with another nod. The two quickly got dressed into their uniforms, not even caring about their half-naked forms as they were changing, she continued to watch as they then left the room.

She then let loose a sigh in humor as she looked at her Scroll, taking a look at the picture that she took, laughing once again as she observed the picture that she took: Weiss sound asleep as she held onto Shay.

It was almost as though they were a couple or something!

 _Almost though... almost_ , Yang thought mischievously, rubbing her hands together diabolically.

Yang froze as she saw Shay and Weiss dressed in their combat clothes, Shay's hand resting on his sword and Weiss' hand on hers.

"Yang, you have one chance to delete that picture and explain yourself," Weiss said, her voice low in intimidation.

"Hmm... nope!" Yang yelled as she bolted off of her bed and pushed the two aside, leaving the room and running down the hallways as fast as she could.

"I am going to murder you in your sleep, Yang!" Weiss screamed as both she and Shay quickly followed after her.

"WEISS, NO!" they heard Ruby yell in panic, flailing around the bed as she heard the threat from the white-clothed Heiress.

"What's going on out here?" Ren asked as he opened his own team's door with a tired and confused look on his face.

"Just your average day," Blake answered neutrally, laying down on her bed, reading a book that she had picked out from her shelf.

"Hmm..." Ren hummed suspiciously as he slowly closed the door in front of him.

 **-May the Father of Understanding Guide Us-**

 _ **Present...**_

"Ruby, no. I'm not actually going to kill your sister."

"B-but you said-"

"I know what I said! Didn't you even listen to Yang's explanation, you should know why I said that," Weiss said, continuing to glare at the blonde-haired girl.

"I know, but still..." Ruby's voice faltered.

 _Goddammit Ruby!/Darn it Ruby!_ Shay and Weiss thought as they both sighed in irritation.

"So let me see if I'm wrong: you decided to wake up early in the morning just to carry Weiss into my bed, just to see how she'll react?" Shay's eye twitched furiously as he directed his attention to Yang.

"Yup!"

"And what have you accomplished?"

"The fact that I knew how she would react. And let me tell ya something: It. Was. Perfect," Yang grinned evilly.

"Delete the picture," Weiss said.

"Huh?"

"I know you heard me!" she snapped.

"You mean... this picture!" Yang immediately opened her scroll and showed it to the rest of the team, Weiss's face turned red in rage.

"(Gasp!) Oh my gosh! Weiss, you look so adorable!" Ruby squealed as she continued to stare at the picture with enthusiasm, focusing on Weiss's sleeping form, who's arms were previously wrapped around the man's body.

"And Shay looks so... _Shay_ ," Blake responded as she peeked over the younger girl's shoulder, also looking at the picture.

"Alright, alright. You've had your fun. Just get rid of the picture," Weiss pleaded.

" _~What's the magic word?~_ " Yang sang out.

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Yang, now," Shay growled as he stepped in front of the Heiress.

"Okay, fine... _killjoys_..." Yang muttered as she moved the picture to an icon of a trash can and deleted the picture.

"Aww..." Ruby groaned as the picture now ceased to exist, flopping back onto her bed.

"Well, let's just get dressed. We got another big day ahead of us!" Weiss said, trying to sound enthusiastic even after the recent incident.

"You mean another day of watching students spar against one another just for grades?" Blake deadpanned.

"Precisely!" Ruby yelled snapping out of her temporary sadness, throwing her hands in the air as she hopped off of her bed and landed on her feet.

"Wait a minute, what time is it?" Weiss asked, prompting Shay to take out his Scroll and activate it (after the team spent _days_ trying to explain the functions of the Scroll and how it worked).

"Eight fifty-four," Shay said as he looked at the device in his hands, he then looked up to see Weiss' eye twitching in frustration.

"Not again!" she cried out as she ran out of the room and towards the direction of the class, once again being followed by the rest of the team as though it was the first day all over again.

"Again?!" Shay heard Jaune scream as his team tried to catch up with the group ahead of them. Shay had to resist glaring back at the leader of Team JNPR, remembering the night that had occurred days earlier.

The two teams ran through the near-empty hallways of the academy, the exceptions being other students who were panicking to get to their classes as well. The halls seems like a blur as they sped faster and faster through, nearly bumping into Professor Port on their way to their class.

"My dear students! What is going on?" he asked.

"Well, you see sir, we're just trying to get to class and-" Ruby tried to explain before being abruptly cut off by the Professor.

"Oh yes, you are almost late to class I see. Ah yes, it reminds me of a time in my younger years, wher-"

"With all due respect sir, we must get going now," Shay reminded quickly.

"Hmph, very well then, my good fellow. Perhaps I'll save my story for the class," he nodded as he turned and walked away.

The entire group breathed a sigh of relief as they quickly broke into a sprint once more, not wasting their time to get to their class.

Without any time to spare, they managed to get to their spots before Professor Goodwitch arrived. And just by pure luck, the authoritative woman walked in literally at the last second.

"Good morning students, and welcome to another day at class," she said in a monotone voice, her shoes clacking against the floor as she walked to the center of the stage.

Shay turned to look at the rest of the group next to him. Most of the group listened attentively to the woman's lecture, but it was Pyrrha and Jaune that seemed the most distracted.

For the most part, it looked as though they felt uneasy being around one another, refusing to look at each other despite the obvious urge to do so. Pyrrha looked depressed in some way, a saddened look seemed to take over her expression. While Jaune was acting more fidgety, but still just as solemn.

"Today, we'll start off with something simple. Our first match will be Jaune Arc-" Jaune looked up at the sound of his name, wondering who he was going to spar against.

"-And Shay Cormac," now Shay looked up at the mention of his name, then to the blonde-haired boy with a look of disdain on his face.

The Templar and the faux Huntsman-in-training got up from their seats and made their way to the locker room to retrieve their weapons. Shay and Jaune continued to walk down the hall; Shay refrained from talking to Jaune out of disappointment, and Jaune not talking to Shay out of shame. So they continued to walk down the halls in silence, not even to meet each other's eye.

Shay was the first to enter the room and retrieve the only weapons he would need: his sword and dagger. He picked up his sword from his locker and inspected the blade, which was still as sharp as though it was made anew; he flipped the blade to get a better look at the hilt and guard, which was riddled with scratches from having to parry and block against many attacks on his life, he then traced his finger over the Templar cross that adorned the bottom of the handle. With final look of confirmation, he sheathed the blade into his belt. The Templar then took a quick look at his knife and spun it into it's pistol form before reverting it into it's original form and sheathing it on the opposite side of his sword.

He turned to see Jaune picking up his sword: _Crocea Mors_ , as it was called, as well as his shield.

Shay watched as Jaune approached him and held out his hand.

"So uhh... good luck?" he replied meekly, in which Shay snorted before walking away.

"I make my own luck," the Templar replied in an authoritative tone as he began to exit the room, listening as Jaune sighed in disappointment. Shay wanted to feel bad for the young man, but he knew that his cold demeanor was a necessity.

The two combatants left the locker room and made their way back to the classroom with the rest of the students.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

The students watched as Jaune and Shay stood on opposite sides of the stage. The two Huntsmen-in-training faced each other as Jaune drew his sword and shield, holding it up in a makeshift defensive manner. They continued to watch in confusion as Shay did not bother to draw his weapons; instead, he merely popped the bones in his neck and knuckles, the crowd winced as they heard each audible pop.

"He's not even going to use his weapon?" Ruby asked out loud.

"I know, it's considered as extreme dishonor if your opponent doesn't use his own weapons in battle. It's as though the unarmed opponent sees his enemy as an annoyance, like a bug about to be squished under a boot," Blake answered, crossing her arms and looking down at the Templar who only stood and watched the leader of JNPR.

"I guess Jaune really _**bugs**_ Shay right now," Yang quipped, everyone around her in a five-meter radius only groaned in disappointment.

"No, sis. Just no," Ruby sighed in irritation.

"That's a... morbid way of looking at it, but you're right," Weiss, who decided to ignore Yang's terrible pun, said to Blake as she continued to watch the battle that was about to begin.

Everyone watched in anticipation as the battle began with Jaune emitting a battle cry as he charged towards his opponent, who could only glare at him as he waited for the right moment to strike. Before the blade could make contact with the Templar, Shay ducked as the boy continued to lunge forward, he then grabbed Jaune by the back of the neck and pushed him away, causing him to stumble forward away from Shay slightly.

Before Jaune could even recuperate, he immediately felt something hard slam against his cheek, causing him to hiss in pain as he fell to the floor. He immediately got up from the floor to see Shay massaging his right fist with the opposite. The man continued to give Jaune a cold glare.

"He didn't even give him time to recover! That's cheating!" Nora yelled as she immediately stood up.

"Nora, calm down. It's a dirty move, yes, but it's still within the rules," Ren reassured, allowing the bright orange-haired girl to sit back down with an irritated, yet calm mood.

Jaune continued to swing at the other boy, who continued to dodge each strike with ease. Each missing strike caused the boy to become more and more frustrated as Shay continued to weave and dodge through the attacks, making him more uncoordinated than he usually was. Trying to think through his frustration, Jaune finally decided to reassess his strategy somewhat. At the exact time when Shay was about to dodge another swing, he immediately retracted the blade in mid-swing, activated his shield and charged into the man's torso.

Shay was not prepared for this attack, so the shield did exactly what it was meant to do at the time: send him off-balance as Jaune actually managed to land a hit on Shay's right side.

With wide eyes from the crowd, they watched as the Aura from Shay dropped from one-hundred to ninety-four percent. They turned to see Jaune's Aura, which was at eighty-eight percent

The Templar raised an eyebrow in amusement as he finally unsheathed his sword.

"Finally, _a fight_ ," Shay smirked malevolently, causing Jaune to gulp in fear.

 _Uh oh,_ Jaune thought as he pushed aside his fear and charged at the man once more.

The two fighters began clashing their blades against one another, which was seen as a series of slashes, blocks, parries, and stabs. The students knew that Shay had the upper hand in experience (and the fact that he actually beat Cardin Winchester in a one-on-one fight), but watched as he fought Jaune as though Shay was an equal rather than a superior.

 _He's not even trying!_ Everyone in the crowd thought simultaneously in realization, as their eyes trailed to Shay and Jaune's Aura meter, in which both were slowly, but surely, chipping away.

Shay blocked another strike and parried it upwards, causing Jaune's arms to spread apart in different directions. The Templar then unsheathed his dagger, transformed it into it's ballistic form, and fired a shot into Jaune's abdomen, sending him sprawling across the stage floor. His sword leaving his hand as he fell.

"Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark," Yang re _ **mark**_ ed as the students continued to watch as Shay spun his revolver-knife into it's sheathe in a gunslinger-type fashion.

"Indeed," Blake said, though she (and everyone else in the room) was unknowingly irritated by the fact that someone made a pun... somehow.

Jaune groaned as he tried to recover from the attack, but he was soon roughly pushed down. He opened his eyes to see Shay with his boot placed on the boy's chest, in his left hand was his sword, held in a reverse-grip. While in his right was... _Crocea Mors_.

"Okay, now that is cold. Even by Weiss's standards," Yang commented, earning a "Hey!" from the Heiress.

"Yeah, that's just messed up. Using another opponent's weapon against him is just... _wrong_ ," Ruby observed the fight.

Shay stood over his beaten opponent, his enemy's weapon pressed against his throat. Before he could finish off the last of Jaune's Aura reserves, he glanced back at the crowd. To see Cardin.

The boy sneered at the two in the arena, knowing that if either of them lost, he would be satisfied by the sight of either the man who crushed him in both battle and the cafeteria, or the boy he bullied in the halls.

Jaune watched as Shay tossed the fallen boy's sword aside and sheathed his own, watching as the blade clattered just a few feet from him.

Shay looked up at Cardin with a look of disgust on his face, watching as Cardin gave the Templar a fierce glare.

The Assassin Hunter looked up at the larger boy then back at Jaune, growling silently as he did. Although he wanted to teach Jaune a more... blunt approach to discipline and humility, he would instead take away Cardin's right to be satisfied by this fight.

The Templar turned and walked away from the stage.

"I forfeit," Shay said to Professor Goodwitch, who did her best not to glare at him in malcontent.

"...Of course. By default, the winner of this match is... Jaune Arc," it was as though the sentence that left her mouth was like a bitter pill. She continued to gaze at Jaune, who nervously picked up his sword and shield, then proceeded to exit the room and withdraw his weapons in the lockers.

The crowd watched in silence as Shay left the classroom to put away his weapons as well, then watched as he came back minutes later as he walked up the stairs and sat between Teams JNPR and RWBY, both teams shifted in their seats uncomfortably at his presence.

 _Nice try, Pyrrha,_ he thought as he glanced at the spartan girl beside him, she gave him what looked to be a look of relief, anger, irritation, and gratitude before looking away.

Shay watched as Jaune walked up the stairs and sat beside the rest of his team, who were in the process of reassuring his abilities.

"Our next match will be between..." the Professor looked at her Scroll as she continued to find a match.

"-Ruby Rose and Lie Ren," she announced.

The crowd now had their full attention on the next match that was to come.

 **-Never Compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 _ **That Evening, in the Dream World...**_

 _"Hello, Pluto," Shay greeted the Precursor that stood before him._

 _"Shay," Pluto bowed lightly with a small grin on his face before standing straight up again, a ball of grey light in his right hand_

 _"Another design for my arsenal, I presume?" the Templar raised an eyebrow._

 _"Yes, but before I bestow it to you, I wish to speak with you," the deity spoke, the ball of light dissipated as he lowered his hand and made his way closer to the Templar._

 _"What is it?" Shay asked._

 _"It's the boy... Jaune, was it?"_

 _Shay groaned as he slid his hand over his forehead in irritation, "The boy is a lost cause if he continues to put himself down in the same manner as he did days before."_

 _"Not exactly," Pluto said as he raised his hand to his chin in thought. Shay looked up him with a look of suspicion._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Well, right now, your friends are irritated, to put it lightly, by your previous actions. Only the Spartan girl and Little Rose seem to see past that and know that somethings wrong."_

 _Little Rose?_

 _"You mean Ruby and Pyrrha?" Shay asked._

 _"Precisely. In fact, she's standing over your bed right now, trying to wake you up," Pluto smirked._

 _"What?!" Shay yelled in disbelief._

 _"I know, it's amusing. But onto the subject of Jaune-"_

 _"You're just going to keep me here while Ruby tries to wake me up?! Assuming that I'm dead?!" Shay immediately let loose a large vocabulary of curses in English, Irish Gaelic, and French before calming down, clearly frustrated by Pluto's insistence of keeping him here._

 _"Are you finished?"_

 _"Yes, now hurry it up before Ruby goes to more drastic measures," he said, rubbing his face as he felt the ghost sensations of slap marks on his face._

 _Dammit Ruby._

 _"Alright, as I was saying, Jaune is inexperienced at the moment. But with your help, he will become a very powerful warrior."_

 _"That idiot refuses assistance from those that are trying to help him."_

 _"Yet you gave him your air rifle temporarily when he was fighting the Grimm during your initiation," Pluto crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow._

 _"That was different. He actually had potential during the battle," Shay countered._

 _"And what's to say he doesn't have potential now?" Pluto responded with that same amused look on his face, watching as Shay tried to find a rebuttal to his statement._

 _But the Templar found none, so he gave up._

 _"Fine, Pluto. I will give him one more chance, but no more."_

 _"Splendid, my dear Shay. Now, what say we give the girls a bit of a scare?"_

 _"What're you talki-" Shay suddenly felt Pluto's finger touch the center of his forehead._

 _Then pain. Pure, unadulterated, burning pain._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

Shay immediately woke up from the intense agony, giving off a short, but loud cry of pain as the intense burning in his skull immediately subsided.

He then heard another bout of screams followed with a hand smacking against the left side of his face, sending him flying off the bed and onto the floor.

"Shay! You're alive!" Ruby yelled in relief as she immediately tackled the young man in a tight embrace. The Templar gazed up to see Yang rubbing the palm of her right hand with her other hand.

"Why did you have to scare us like that again!?" Weiss said as she walked over to him and slapped the other side of his face with her left hand as he tried to get up.

 _Why me?!_ Shay thought as he fell back down, pain flooding the opposite side of his face.

"Weiss, Yang, stop it!" Ruby chided as she tried helping the larger of the two stand back up. The red-haired girl grunted in exasperation as she tried to help lift him up, but to no avail. Instead, Shay stood up on his own after witnessing the young leader's struggle.

"You can easily carry a large, red scythe-rifle, but you have trouble picking him up?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! Cresent Rose is not heavy!" Ruby yelled, pouting at Blake's rhetorical question.

Shay covered his face with his hands as he tried to numb the pain on his cheeks, "Why were you trying to wake me up?"

"Well, first I went outside to talk to Jaune, but he seemed unhappy about his position as a leader, so I helped talk to him. Then Pyrrha opened the door and asked if you can talk with her for a little bit, so I went back inside to go wake you up, but you weren't waking up, so I tried everything to get you to wake up-"

" _Almost_ everything," Weiss corrected.

"Yeah Ruby, the other part of the ' _almost_ ' is between her and Shay," Yang quipped, wiggling her eyebrows in emphasis, earning a glare from the Heiress.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked innocently, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

"Nothing... not yet," the blonde-haired girl flashed a mischievous grin to Weiss, who's eye suddenly began to twitch as she gave Yang a cold, angry stare.

"-Well anyways, we all thought you either in a coma, for some reason, or you were dead. I was not going to give up, so I woke up the rest of our team and was about to get them to wake up, but then you awoke at the exact moment. So... here we are," Ruby chuckled nervously as she motioned to the rest of her team sheepishly.

Deciding not to waste any time, Shay decided to open the chest containing his original clothing and only withdrew his overcoat, despite the only thing he wore was the bottom half of his Beacon uniform. He slipped on the coat and buttoned it up.

What the girls saw was a man with disheveled hair (due to him deciding not to tie the ribbon that made his ponytail) wearing a pair of black pants and a black overcoat with red lining. To summarize: this was him at his messiest, but he had no time to waste on complaining.

He silently grumbled at the girls that woke him up as he headed out the door, but knew that they had woken him up for a good reason.

As soon as he exited the room, he was greeted by Pyrrha dressed in her Beacon uniform. It was almost as though she lacked sleepwear and slept in the clothes that were meant to be worn publicly.

"Hello, Shay," Pyrrha greeted, though it was in a neutral tone rather than her usual eager mood.

"Miss Nikos. I believe you wanted to talk," the Templar stated, rather than asked.

"Yes. Come with me," she ordered, her voice taking a more commanding tone.

He only nodded lightly as he followed close behind the red-haired girl before him.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you guys had a fun time going to parties, collecting candy, or just staying at home doing other things.**

 **Also, as recommended by one of the reviewers, I'd like you guys to share which (possible) pairing that Shay would be involved in. I already have the idea, but I want to hear you guys' opinions. I'll then show the poll in the next chapter after all votes have been collected.**

 **In my opinion, this one seemed a little rushed, but I enjoy making chapters for you guys (especially that little fourth-wall break I added).**

 **Lastly, check out my other fic:** **Belladonna and the Bat: Asylum , I wanna hear you guys' opinions on that fic too, if you have the time. **

**Alright, stay beautiful, my reviewers, followers and favorite(rs). I'll see you guys in the next chapter of RWBY: The Hunter.**


	10. Chapter 10: Forever Fall

**Q &A: None for today (suprisingly). **

**Author's Note:** **Alright, I've gathered all the votes from both my PMs and the all reviews pertaining or on the subject of pairings:**

 **Here we go, the polls you've been waiting for are out on this chapter now (with ship names!), sorry if it's not a legitimate poll, I still am a little new to this:**

 **Shay and Ruby: 2, (one of you guys decided to call this one " _Rogue Roses")_. **

**Shay and Yang: 6, (I don't have any names, nor have I found a name for this one, sorry).**

 **Shay and Weiss: 7, ( _Snowstorm)_.**

 **Shay and Blake: 4, ( _Cloak and Dagger_ ). **

**Shay and... um, alright... _Harem_ (though I think this was only a joke, I still have to count it anyway): 1, (I... got nothing.)**

 **If you guys can come up with anything better, be my guest.**

 **If you guys have ideas for this story, PM me.**

* * *

 **I do not own Assassin's Creed or RWBY**

 _"Now what are you going on about?"_

 _"Stay out of this, you fool!"_

 _"Well I was going to, but... now you've made things personal..."_

* * *

 _ **The 'Grimm':**_

 ** _Beowolf._**

 ** _That is what the Huntsmen call it's species. Labeling and classifying each individual species according to it's appearance and structure; Beowolves, Ursai, Goliaths, these were some of the few that have been discovered, and ultimately killed by their prey._**

 ** _Though it knew all this information, all this new wisdom given by just mere contact with the Hunter, it was pointless in what it was currently doing._**

 ** _This... Awoken Beowolf... was now challenging the leadership of the Alpha. Even though the Grimm were in no way related to their less volatile cousins, they still contained the traits of these common animals._**

 ** _The Beowolf growled in pain as it was thrown back by the larger of the two. The Alpha pawed at the ground, trying to goad the smaller, injured challenger into another attack._**

 ** _It snarled as it eyed the rest of the pack that surrounded them, watching in silence as the two continued to tear at one another, trying to see who is the superior._**

 ** _The Alpha was, naturally, the largest and strongest in this group of Grimm, bulging muscle that looked as though it was going to burst from it's black hide, along with sharp and thin spines that ran across it's back and arms, the claws were sharpened to needle-tipped points. The Alpha's bone, white face looked decorative, as though representing an influence of power, despite the ceremonial look, the mask-like face was filled with scratches and slashes, battle wounds from the amount of Huntsmen that had caused these scars in the first place._**

 ** _Before the Beowolf could recover from it's wounds, it felt a large, sharp hand grasp the back of it's neck, it looked up to see the Alpha growling deeply into it's ear, declaring victory over the smaller of the two._**

 ** _The larger tossed it's head back and roared an ear-piercing howl before picking up the smaller Beowolf and throwing it out of the ring of black, soulless wolves._**

 ** _It felt the impact, pain spreading across the side of it's body as it felt several bones in it's body fracture from the throw. After several seconds, it managed to pick itself back up from the ground._**

 ** _The Awoken Beowolf looked in shock as the rest of the Grimm growled and screeched at it. This only meant one thing:_**

 ** _Exile._**

 ** _It had challenged the authority of it's superior and was punished accordingly: forced to live the rest of it's life in isolation._**

 ** _With one final growl, it turned it's head in shame and stalked away in the opposite direction, not even bothering to look back at it's former brethren._**

 ** _At the same time, apart from it's humiliation, it felt something different. Not in the sense of something related to it's humiliation, it was... surprisingly positive._**

 ** _Freedom, was the word._**

 ** _He felt a sense of freedom._**

 ** _The Beowolf now began his journey into the Emerald Forest, unknowing of the discovery he would make that would change his life._**

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 **Beacon Academy  
10:02 PM  
Day 29, Monday (Month 9, Year 0)**

Pyrrha continued to lead Shay towards the roof of the building. The same rooftop where Jaune refused the help of both a trained Assassin Hunter and a world-renowned fighter, sparking Shay's bitterness towards Jaune.

Shay on the other hand, was following behind this red-haired gladiator of a girl, unknowing of what was to happen as soon as they arrived at their destination. All he knew was that they were in a hurry, with the only things that Shay was wearing was the pants of his Beacon uniform and his Templar overcoat, even the ribbon that kept his hair back was missing, giving him a disheveled, messy, and more or less drunken appearance.

"Here we are," Pyrrha finally said as she opened the door and let the man pass through the door in front of him. Shay slowly walked to the center of the roof, taking in the familiar surroundings once again as he heard Pyrrha approaching him from behind.

When she asked that she was to speak to him, he was suspicious as first. He thought that Pyrrha would either scold him for being too brutal to Jaune, pummel him with her bare hands for the same reasons, or other things relating to _the exact same subject_.

But he was then caught off-guard by her next response.

"I wanted to say thank you, for not being too hard on Jaune during the match," she said, contradicting everything Shay thought she was going to say.

"You mean all that punishment that I inflicted to him was **not** harsh?" Shay asked, attempting to hide the incredulity in his voice.

"I meant when you let Jaune win. I saw Cardin too, I know that you denied him the privilege of watching this fight play out according to how he thought it would end," she answered with an almost unnoticeable smile.

Although he had held the thought in his head back during the aftermath of the match, he had to say it to the girl in front of him now.

Shay crossed his arms over his chest, while raising an eyebrow at the same time.

"Nice try, Pyrrha," the Templar said in a voice that bordered the edge of a sardonic statement, watching in amusement as the Invincible Girl's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks as soon as the words left his mouth.

"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered, trying to maintain her usual formal composure, but to no avail, unfortunately.

The Templar merely lifted his hand to his chin in thought.

"I actually thought that it was suspicious, a little funny even, that I was pitted against Jaune just three days after our meeting with Jaune as you were concerned with his training. I thought it was mere coincidence at first, until you glanced at me with that strange look in your eyes," Shay continued to deduce, watching as a single drop of sweat formed on the right side of Pyrrha's forehead, she then started to give him a painfully forced smile and began to rub the back of her neck with her hand, as though she was found guilty of a crime and was doing her best to act as nonchalant as possible.

"I don't know what-" she managed to say in a deceptively calm voice before being interrupted.

"I know you asked Professor Goodwitch the day before if she could have me spar against Jaune, this explains why she did not give any sort of lectures after the fight, yet she gave a rather detailed speech on why Ren lost to Ruby after _their_ fight. I also saw you speaking with her yesterday, yet I decided not to pay attention in detail to what you were discussing until after today's match. Besides that, this was all just assumption on my part until you asked to speak with me, _that_ was when my suspicions were cleared of doubt," he finished with a small wave of his hand as though pushing the 'doubt' aside.

Pyrrha was speechless as to how he knew, yet his own explanation seemed too surreal to even be possible. Finding out her motive just from a few expressions, small talk, and what should've been subtle actions that seemed irrelevant.

"You told me you would've been fine if I decided not to train him with you."

"I know," Pyrrha responded irritably, lowering her head in guilt.

"These actions of yours today seemed most unlike you as well, Miss Nikos."

"I know," she repeated.

"So why try to trick me into playing along in this little game rather than just ask me to help-"

"Because Jaune wasn't accepted into Beacon!" she almost screamed at him before covering her mouth in shock at both what she had just said and for mistaking what the Templar had said for something else entirely.

Shay watched as the red-haired girl before him slumped down on the ground with a guilty look on her face.

"You mean I could've just asked you?" Pyrrha whispered

"With convincing by a rather (literally) very close associate of mine, I had a change of heart, yes. But do tell me, what do you mean, 'he wasn't accepted here'?" Shay sat down beside Pyrrha, concern playing about his face.

"Jaune got his hands on fake transcripts and lied his way into Beacon. When he told me this, I now knew that he would need all the help he could get, so I needed your help as well, given your experience without a semblance and both possessing weapons that don't contain alternate forms. I knew that you would be the appropriate person to help Jaune," Pyrrha answered, looking down at her hands, which were resting in her lap.

This new information caught the Templar off-guard, it explained why Jaune was, in his opinion, one of the worst fighters he had ever seen, though Shay had no right to mock the boy, he himself had little experience on a majority of the things that were not of his own world. Dust, Aura (though he now had one, which was average at best), and Semblance being the foremost important subjects of this world.

"...So, will you help?" she asked.

"Yes I will, but on two conditions," Shay said as he stood back up onto his feet.

"And what are they?" Pyrrha asked as she stood up with him, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow in concern.

Shay took notice of her wary attitude now and slightly raised his hands to reassure the girl, "No need to be alarmed, Miss Nikos. My conditions hold no ill will."

Pyrrha calmed down slightly at his statement, but still held suspicion over what exactly he would ask.

"First, Jaune will get one last chance for my help, so if he tries to put himself down again and refuses my help one last time, then no more. Finally, he must deal with his own personal issue," Shay said.

"What do you mean, 'personal issue'?" the 'Invincible Girl' air quoted.

"Cardin Winchester. The bastard has Jaune under a _very_ short leash, I've eavesdropped on several of their conversations. It... doesn't look good," he shook his head in disappointment.

"I did tell Jaune that I could break his legs," she joked, though sadness was still clear in her voice.

"That does sound very tempting, but he must solve that problem on his own. Do we have a deal?" Shay offered his hand toward Pyrrha.

Pyrrha was conflicted by this dilemma, either wait and leave Jaune until he is able to handle his problem or help him and risk losing support from the man before her.

After a mere minute of contemplating her choice and weighing the possible outcomes and risks, she made her decision.

She only hoped that it was the right one.

Once the choice was made, Shay only turned around and headed to the door with Pyrrha following behind him.

After minutes of walking through the halls, they made their way to their dorms.

Both Hunters-in-training undid the locks on their doors with their Scrolls, the two looked back at each other one last time simultaneously.

"Have a good night, Miss Nikos," Shay said with a neutral expression.

"And you too, Shay," Pyrrha nodded and closed the door behind her.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 **Forever Fall  
2: 30 PM  
Day 3, Thursday (Month 10, Year 0)**

The forest that was called Forever Fall was quite literal in it's name. The trees that made up these woods were covered in bright red leaves, as though in a constant state of autumn. Shay whistled, impressed by the sights that he was now witnessing. It was beautiful, simply beautiful.

What surprised him even more was that this was now his second month in Beacon, it seemed like yesterday when the Headmaster of this Academy invited him to his school.

"Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful," Professor Goodwitch began, holding her riding crop behind her back with both hands, a group of students following behind her as she continued to lecture them on their current assignment.

The Templar and the rest of Team RWBY was one of the few among these students that was partaking in this assignment. Coincidentally, Teams JNPR and CRDL were also part of this 'mission'.

"But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach's asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside the forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so," she explained rather bluntly before stopping to face the students behind her, prompting the group to stop with her.

Shay heard a faint clinking noise behind him, he turned to see Jaune holding a set of cases with several glass jars resting on top of them. He decided to ignore this scene before him and looked to see Pyrrha doing everything in her power not to look back at him, but the only thing she could do was keep her head facing the Professor while her eyes moved to the direction of the sound, looking to the right as she frowned at the scene that she was currently hearing.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap-" the Professor continued to explain, pulling out a jar already filled with such sap, "However, this forest is full of creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous here at four o' clock. Have fun," Goodwitch finished as she turned and walked farther into the woods.

"C'mon buddy, let's go," Cardin said to Jaune as he began to lead him to another part of the forest.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

Jaune finally returned to Team CRDL with his hands filled with jars of red sap, bringing the large amount of glassware before collapsing onto the ground with an audible thud.

First he had the guilt of lying his way into Beacon, then he was bullied by Cardin ever since he had entered into this Academy. Now to make matters worse, Cardin was now aware of his little secret and was not afraid to use it against him.

 _Why does this have to happen to me?_ he groaned inwardly as he continued to lay there, surrounded by Team CRDL, who were only just lounging around, waiting for him to do all their work.

"Hey, great work there, Jaune-y boy. Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cardin asked mockingly.

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." Jaune slurred, this being his only answer to Cardin's question, lifting his head up, his vision blurred and strange before realizing he was currently cross-eyed.

"Great, great, great. So Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'"

"That is one of the many questions that I have asked myself today, yes," the blonde-haired boy responded as he lifted himself up and sat down onto the ground.

"Well, come with me and you'll find out," Cardin sneered, earning a groan and a gulp from the smaller boy.

Jaune finally got up and began to follow the four team members.

As he was walking, Jaune began thinking of the conversation he had with both Pyrrha and Shay when they were on the rooftop.

He felt stupid for refusing help from Shay, he felt like a complete and total idiot for refusing to train with the strongest person on his team. Jaune had made many mistakes when it came to things such as these.

And for refusing help and blurting out the truth to Pyrrha just as an excuse to get her to leave him be, he was now Cardin's lapdog, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Unless... no, he couldn't. Could he? But he was outmatched four-to-one...

No... he couldn't.

Jaune finally reached the hill, sitting between Cardin and Russel. What he was seeing was the rest of the group getting their own respective shares of the sap into their jars before taking their time to take a break.

Ruby was having trouble trying to close the lid on the jar, pouting in irritation as she tried her best to position the lid right over the top of the jar and having to use all her strength just to open the jar again and repeat the process in futility. Blake, who was right beside Ruby, was only kneeling down in boredom as she already finished her task. Yang was standing beside a tree, observing the jar she had filled before tossing it up a few inches into the air before catching it and sitting beside her younger sister. He then turned his sights to Weiss, who was already trying to engage in a conversation with Shay, who was still trying to figure out a way of getting the sap out of the tree before finally finding a way past the skin, though Jaune swore he saw a blade come out of Shay's wrist and stab the tree before it immediately retracted, causing red sap to ooze out of the tree, almost like bright red blood.

That could've been his imagination, though.

He almost chuckled as he watched Ruby storm up to Shay and hold out the jar before her, explaining the situation to him until he took the jar from her hands and properly sealed the jar in only a second, causing Ruby to stare at the jar, then to the young man in shock. Shay grinned mischievously as he messily ruffled her hair, laughing lightly when he watched her turn red in embarrassment and as Yang laughed rather loudly at the sight. Shay turned back to the alabaster Heiress beside him and continued to converse with her.

Ren was filling up another jar for Nora, as she had already eaten her way through another helping of the sap, at this point, Ren was doing everything in his willpower not to give up with the assignment at this girl's shenanigans. Finally, there was Pyrrha holding a jar of sap with a small, victorious grin on her face.

"Cardin, what's going on?" Jaune asked suspiciously.

"Payback," Cardin answered, Jaune finally understood what he meant.

Or at least he thought he did.

"Pyrrha?"

"No. Him," Cardin growled as he pointed at the man talking with Weiss, who was laughing at what appeared to be a joke that Shay had probably told, maybe even a funny personal story that he was sharing with her.

"Shay?" Jaune asked incredulously, but it did make sense, with what happened at both the ballroom before their initiation, where Cardin was punished with a bloody nose; the arena, where he was defeated along with a heavy blow to his pride; and at the mess hall, where he and the rest of his team was brutally beaten single-handedly by one man: Shay Patrick Cormac.

"That's him. That pony-tailed idiot thinks he's all tough and mighty," Cardin answered before pulling out a small box.

"All right, boys. Last night, ol' Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put 'em to work," Cardin explained. Jaune laughed nervously at both the sound of the angry insect sounds that were echoing from withing the cardboard box, and that fact that Russel was roughly shaking his shoulder.

"Now according to one of the essays that he wrote for me last week, these nasty things love sweets. I'm thinking we teach him a thing or two-" he said as he pulled Jaune up by the hand and shoved a jar filled with sap into his arms.

"-And you're gonna do it."

"Do what?" Jaune asked, though he was afraid of what the answer might be.

"Hit him with the sap! Either that or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon," he threatened as he shoved a finger into Jaune's shoulder.

Jaune looked down at the jar in his hands, then up at Cardin, who was sporting a victorious sneer on his face.

With no choice, he raised the jar high up and aimed for the man sporting his trademark ponytail. Unfortunately, Shay glanced up to see Jaune holding the jar above his head.

With a hand on Weiss' shoulder, Jaune watched as he said something to her, watching as she frowned slightly before walking back to the rest of her team. This now left a singular stare-down between the two.

Shay glared at the boy's intentions as he lifted his hand to the handle of his blade, as though he was prepared to cut the jar in mid-air.

This was a test. A trial to see if Jaune would either be forced to submit and obey one who held power him with just a few simple words, or to rebel and stand up for himself against this bully.

Then something snapped inside the boy, "No."

"What did you say?" Cardin demanded.

"I said, no!" Jaune's instincts screamed for him to throw the jar at the man who was controlling and threatening him. And for once, he obeyed this instinct.

Oh how he would immediately regret it...

He watched in slow motion as the jar crashed against the bully before him, the jar shattered into pieces, covering Cardin's chestplate with red goop.

And behind Jaune, from several metres away, stood Shay with a victorious smile on his face, mentally applauding the boy within his own mind.

But that was only the first of Jaune's problems.

"oh-ho-ho, you've done it now," Cardin said in a menacing voice.

Jaune only laughed nervously as he was grabbed by the shoulders by two of the team members before being dragged away into the woods.

 **-Always hide in plain sight-**

Shay explained to the rest of his teammates that he had something to take care of for the moment, having to ignore an inappropriate joke from Yang, something about 'taking care of his business'; and earning an annoyed look from Weiss and warning not to take too long with what he was going to do.

The Templar followed after Jaune and Cardin's team, should Cardin ever be sadistic enough to actually be rid of the boy. He kept himself lower to the ground and hid behind the trees to reduce his visibility as the boys continued to drag Jaune deeper into the scarlet forest.

The former Assassin continued his pursuit on the team of delinquents until they stopped, picking up the leader of JNPR by the collar of his jacket and beating him into the ground, they continued this process for the next minute.

"You know that wasn't very smart, Jaune-y boy," he heard from Winchester.

Jaune's clothes were tattered and messy, his face was covered in an collection of bruises and cuts inflicted by Cardin Winchester and his lackeys.

"I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny tiny pieces," Cardin growled, although Shay could've easily walked up to them and easily dispatch them with his Blades, he was morbidly curious as to how this could develop, especially with what Jaune would then say next.

"I don't care what you do to me, but you are not messing with my friends," Jaune responded to the larger man's threat, earning some respect from the Templar as he nodded his head to himself in approval.

"What, you think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big, strong man now?" Winchester demanded in irritation, his only answer being a pained grin from Jaune, now ready for what was to come.

At that instant, Shay decided that it was time to test out the latest addition to his assortment of weaponry. The Templar climbed up the tree that he was currently hiding behind before lifting his hand towards Cardin, revealing the bracer that contained two small rods along with his hidden blade in between; with the press of a button at the bottom of the bracer, the two rods surrounding the blade extended in opposite ninety-degree angles, resembling a crossbow. And like a crossbow, a small bolt with a light green fluid arrowhead rested on top of the wire that held it in place.

Pluto explained to Shay that this peculiar device was called a 'Phantom Blade', the final result of a prototype made by the famous artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci. The new addition acted similarly to his air rifle or his blow gun, silently firing projectiles that could either kill or incapacitate.

Fortunately, Beacon Academy, as far as he knew, had nothing against using sleep bolts to disarm opponents. But before Shay could put his weapon to the test, he was temporarily blinded by a sudden flash of bright light, forcing him to avert his eyes from this blinding light.

When Shay opened his eyes, he saw Cardin clutching his fist in pain and Jaune with his wounds seemingly disappearing as his body was covered in a glowing white tint before he was kicked down onto the ground by one of Cardin's teammates.

"Let's see how much of a man you really are," he sneered sardonically before everyone in the area heard a loud, bestial roar that seemed frighteningly close.

They watched as a large Ursa, which was covered in white spines that ran down it's back, emerged from the woods. It's red soulless eyes bore deep into students before before standing up on it's hind legs and sniffing in the air, it's red soulless eyes then bore into one specific Huntsman-in-training.

Who was this student? Cardin Winchester, the only man covered in red sap that was thrown by the courageous moron known as Jaune.

The Ursa immediately got down on it's hind legs and roared at him in rage.

Shay watched as the rest of Cardin's team turned tail and began running away from the creature of Grimm.

"That's a big Ursa!" the one with the green mohawk yelled as he continued sprinting from the monster in terror. The Ursa then swiped at Cardin with one of it's claws, knocking him to the side like a ragdoll.

The Ursa looked at Jaune for only a second before turning and making it's way to Cardin, who was desperately trying to crawl away from the monster.

Cardin pulled out his weapon, the same explosive mace that had the ability to put holes into metal, but it was knocked away by the Ursa. The mace flew threw the air and fell in front of Jaune. Shay looked at Jaune, wondering just what the boy was going to do.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

The rest of group continued to fill up more of the red sap until they heard a roar in the distance. Ruby looked up at the sound of the roar.

"Did anyone hear that?" she asked.

Pyrrha turned to see several of Cardin's teammates frantically running from whatever was the source of the noise.

"Ursa! Ursa!" Russel screamed before he then accidentally slammed into Yang, who then picked him up by the collar of his outfit.

"What? Where?" she demanded.

"Back there, it's got Cardin!" he yelled, pointing in the direction of the Ursa.

Both Weiss and Pyrrha dropped their jars of sap, both knowing what this meant.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha realized, Jaune had been with Team CRDL for the entirety of the trip, this meant that he was in trouble as well.

"Shay!" Weiss yelled, aware of the fact that Shay had walked in the same direction in which the rest of Cardin's team came running.

"Yang, you and Blake go get Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby ordered as she unsheathed her scythe.

"You two, go with them! There could be more," Pyrrha commanded as she grasped at her sword and shield.

Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha broke into a sprint towards the direction of Ursa before watching as Cardin was knocked down by the creature when it leaped over him and swiped at him with a large claw.

 _Where is he?!_ Weiss thought in panic as she scanned the area, but the place was devoid of the man. She then looked at the Ursa in horror, assuming the worst of Shay's fate: eaten by a Grimm.

"Oh no," Pyrrha whispered, witnessing as the Grimm stalked towards the injured boy and swung it's claws again, only to be blocked by another force: Jaune's shield.

They watched as Jaune continued to block and force back the Ursa's claw.

In anger, Weiss unsheathed _Myrtenaster_ , preparing to skewer the monster at a moment's notice.

"Wait!" Pyrrha told the white-haired Heiress, but she continued to keep her blade at hand in case worst comes to worst.

The trio, as well as Cardin, watched as Jaune continued to land a strike against the large black bear, causing it to stumble back. The Ursa slashed as Jaune again, only for the boy to roll to the right and leap over another attack, only to be punched in midair by it. Jaune picked himself off the ground and ran at it once again, only to be tossed aside again by another attack from the Grimm's oversized paws.

The Ursa ran on all four legs before stopping to face the boy once more, Jaune steeled himself and ran towards the monster with a loud battle-cry, his shield raised above his head and his sword preparing to form an arc, his intention was to behead the beast.

Time seemed to slow down to everyone else, though the fight was bound to end in only a matter of seconds. The small group watched as Pyrrha raised her arm, a dim grey glow seemed to emanate from her hand.

Jaune's shield automatically raised higher to parry the blow. With his foot firmly planted into the ground, he succeeded in beheading the beast with one swift strike,

Ruby turned to face Pyrrha with a perplexed look, "Uhh, what?"

"How did you...-"

"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, my semblance is Polarity," she answered.

"You can control poles?" Ruby wondered.

"No, you dunce. It means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss corrected, though the correction was rather harsh.

"Magnets are cool too," the leader of Team RWBY whispered.

"Wait, where are you going? What about Shay?" Weiss demanded.

"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened."

"We could, or perhaps we could just keep it our little secret. As for Shay..." she looked up at one of the trees, Weiss mirrored her action only to see Shay jump down from said tree and landed in front of the three.

"Weiss, Ruby, Pyrrha," the man greeted with a small bow.

"Shay!" Ruby yelled in excitement and surprise from his sudden appearance.

Weiss only stared at him for only a few seconds before going off on him in frustration.

"You idiot! We thought you were dead!" she screamed at the man, who only gave her a puzzled look.

"...Actually, I knew he was still alive..." Ruby tried to make the situation better.

"What!?"

"Pyrrha told me," Ruby answered, pointing to Pyrrha, who was trying to get out of this new argument.

"WHAT?!" Weiss screamed, before she felt a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders, causing her to freeze immediately.

"Weiss, calm down. You should already know that I am not that easy to kill," Shay reassured with a raised eyebrow in concern.

"But I thought... the Ursa- you- argh!" she threw her hands up in defeat before looking at him one last time.

"Just don't scare me like that again. Okay?" she pointed a finger at him in accusation.

"Alright, I won't," Shay sighed as she turned and walked away.

"Are you coming?" Weiss asked as she continued walking away, noticing the lack of footsteps she was hearing.

"Give me a second, I have something to take care of, I'll catch up with you soon," Shay said.

"Again? Fine, just don't keep us waiting," she huffed as she left his line of sight.

Shay looked back at her previous location with a small grin before turning back to face Cardin and Jaune, who was now leaving the area.

Cardin scowled at the sight of the Templar in front of him.

"What do you want?" he growled, only to stop as he felt a blade press against his throat.

"That was quite an act you tried to pull, Winchester. But try to have someone else do your dirty work rather than facing me directly, and I will make no hesitation of getting rid of you permanently. Are we clear?" Shay demanded in a dark, malevolent voice as his Hidden Blade pressed further into his throat.

Cardin looked at the man's expression, seeing that he was dead serious, and that he would be seriously dead if he ever did something like this again if Shay catches him once more.

"C-crystal," he stuttered before he heard the blade retract, Shay then smiled at him, though he saw traces of mischief beneath that grin.

"Good man, now I believe we must catch up with Miss Goodwitch. Shall we?" Shay asked as he turned and walked away. Cardin gulped at the thought of this man's previous intentions, now knowing full well that Shay can and will murder him without a moment's notice.

Shay now knew he would not be bothering Jaune, or anyone else for that matter, for a long time.

The two continued to walk in silence; one in fear, the other in boredom, as they made their way to the airship and back to the Academy.

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

 _That night..._

"So I guess, you're not helping?" Pyrrha asked in worry, waiting for the Templar's inevitable answer. She knew she had messed up, using her semblance to help Jaune against the Ursa

The two stood behind the door to the rooftops once more, knowing full well that Jaune was behind the door. Pyrrha invited Shay to speak with her once more on the rooftops, hoping that he would grant her his attention for the moment, luckily she was right.

"Our deal did not involve helping against a creature of Grimm, just Cardin; and it seems that that issue has been solved," Shay raised an eyebrow in amusement, watching as Pyrrha opened her mouth to apologize until she heard the last of his sentence, then she stood up straight with a large smile on her face.

"Thank you, Shay... just wait here, this'll only take a second," she responded as she walked through the door, leaving Shay to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"No Cardin tonight?" he heard Pyrrha ask as she walked over to Jaune.

Shay grinned in a mockingly evil look.

 _She has me to thank for that..._

"I thought you two were best buds?"

"Pyrrha, I'm sorry. I was a jerk, you were only trying to be nice and... I-I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"

"Jaune. It's okay," Pyrrha reassured, accepting Jaune's apology.

"Your team really misses their leader, you know," she then turned to walk away, "~Ren made pancakes, no syrup though, you can thank Nora for that."

"Wait!" they heard Jaune call out, prompting Shay to freeze in thought.

 _Is he now considering it?_ he thought. But seriously, would he?

Pyrrha turned to face Jaune once more with a small trace of a smile on her lips.

"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me?" Jaune asked.

 _He does,_ Shay confirmed his thoughts.

"I would, but you have one more person you have to apologize to as well," she crossed her arms with an amused grin.

"Alright, who?" he asked.

Pyrrha then turned around with a smile on her face, "Shay, you can come out now."

"Um... Shay?" Jaune whimpered as Shay emerged from the door and stood beside Pyrrha.

Then Jaune watched in horror as Shay began to approach him.

"Alright, alright. Look, I'm sorry that Cardin was about to-"

Another step.

"-make me cover you with jar full of sap, but I had no-"

Another step.

"-choice. But it's okay now, I retaliated and then helped him when he was in trouble, though he was going to pound my face into the ground-"

Shay was now directly in front of Jaune, making him cover his face instinctively.

"- _sonowallisgood,pleasedon'thurtme!"_ Jaune panicked as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Apology accepted," he heard before he was forcefully shoved to the ground, making the smallest of the three groan in pain.

"You're stance is wrong, Jaune. You need to be wider and lower to the ground," Shay instructed.

 _Like you are right now, only more useful,_ he mentally added.

Jaune was then helped up by Pyrrha.

"Let's try that again," Pyrrha said.

"It'll only be a matter of time before we move onto one-on-one combat, Jaune. So enjoy this while you can," Shay shrugged his shoulder before giving him a small glare.

Jaune gulped in fear, perhaps a simple apology wasn't going to cut it.

Oh, this was going to be a long night...

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** **Aaaand done! Sorry if I was a little late, but I finally made it!**

 **My tenth chapter!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter and keep an eye out for any updates.**

 **And once again, stay beautiful, ladies and gents. I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11: Grimmborne

**Q &A:**

 **SimplyRV: You'll see...**

* * *

 **Author's** **Note: I had to update, edit, and add a few details to some of the previous chapters. You'll see some noticeable changes that'll play an important part in this story. _Starting now_.**

 **Also, in this chapter (and the next), I'll be introducing a few of my own characters (yeah, I know, I'm not particularly fond of OCs myself, but they're going to play a big role in this story. Also, they're _my_ OCs, meaning that I know how exactly they would act and what they think, just wanted to point that out.)**

 **Also, if you guys have any ideas for this story or any of my other (future) stories, PM me.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

 _"Right or wrong, Shay, you betrayed the Brotherhood, Achilles, and me."_

* * *

 ** _The 'Beowolf':_**

 ** _To call this new beast a creature of Grimm would be wrong._**

 ** _Yes, he possessed the appearance of a Grimm, and created similar sounds a Beowolf Grimm makes. But it's actions, it's atrocities that it had spread to it's brethren... no, this creature was something new._**

 ** _Removed of all ignorance and blindness of the mind, this Awoken Grimm was exiled by his pack and left to fend for himself. Even within their bestial minds, they continued to think that he wouldn't last even a single moment out on his own._**

 ** _But alas, the black wolf persevered and relentlessly hunted down his own siblings, tearing apart both they and the Hunters that opposed them._**

 ** _From one swift strike that severed it's arm, enlightenment blossomed within the young soulless wolf and both cruel wisdom and cold logic arose, giving the the former beast knowledge that rivaled even it's elders._**

 ** _After days of traveling restlessly from the Emerald Forest into the woods of Forever Fall, it fell onto the brunt of it's stomach, the wounds from the Alpha healing, yet the pain still lingered. Like some enraged phantom._**

 ** _The Beowolf growled at the pain and forced itself on it's hind legs, leaning against a large brown-maroon tree. He knew that the pain would soon subside and that the worst would be over._**

 ** _But now something tugged at the back of it's new mind, something it had never thought of. Why?_**

 ** _Why was he given this ability to understand? To... know? These unanswered questions continued to furiously irritate the young wolf, like a rash that is unable to be scratched._**

 ** _Perhaps he could find others like him. Others that held the same mindset, the same array of knowledge. But would there be others like him? Truly, would there?_**

 ** _The Beowolf roared in frustration as it slammed it's head against the tree before shaking off the daze and staring down at the red grass below him._**

 ** _Now what was this?_**

 ** _Lying on the grass, there appeared to be a small red gem, roughly smaller than the palm of a human hand. The Grimm brought it closer to his face, balancing the small red rock between the tips of two of it's claws._**

 _"Eat me..." **a voice spoke, the Beowolf growled and shifted his head among his surroundings several times only to find nothing.**_

 _ **Perhaps there was something wrong with his mind?**_

 _"Eat me..." **it spoke again. This time, the wolf was frantic, concentrating on all his animal senses to try and pinpoint his prey. But there was no movement to be seen.**_

 _"Eat me and I will grant you power..." **the Beowolf's eyes widened in realization as it's head slowly turned to the gem between it's claws.**_

 _ **It spoke? How can an inanimate object be capable of speaking? Such thoughts were ludicrous and were meant to be put aside.**_

 _"Power beyond your wildest dreams,"_ **_the voice was soft, caring, lacking an identification of gender, though the Beowolf would guess on female._**

 ** _He stared at the rock before turning it over several times in his clawed hand. Would it be worth it?_**

 _"Yes..." **the voice continued to speak in a sultry voice, tempting him to consume the rock and awaken whatever power lay dormant within the crystal.**_

 _ **Part of his mind screamed for him to throw the rock as far as he could and be rid of it once and for all, but this state of mind was only the far lesser of the two. In the end, temptation and curiosity won over self-preservation.**_

 _ **With one toss into his mouth went the blood-red gem, the rock passing through his throat and into the pits of his insides.**_

 _ **Seconds passed, then minutes, then what felt like an hour soon passed.**_

 _ **The voice was gone and the gem was consumed, was he simply going mad or was it just ner-**_

 _ **Then the Beowolf doubled over and crumpled to the ground, clutching at his stomach in uncertainty.**_

 _ **Then came the pain...**_

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Vale  
2:00 PM  
Day 2, Friday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Shay was not going to lie. Having to keep the secrets of Blake's heritage and Jaune's lie was irritating, combined with helping Jaune with his nightly sessions of training with he and Miss Nikos _and_ training the girls in his own form of teaching.

In short: the Templar was absolutely exhausted. He felt as though he could sleep through all four seasons and again. The newly finished tool from Pluto's schematics that he had spent working on all night didn't help either.

But in the girls' minds concerning Shay's mental state, sleep was for the weak.

It was both the tenth month of the year and the second month as a student of Beacon, it was currently a two-week vacation consisting of both recreation and studying for any future exams that would be coming up soon.

He groaned in exhaustion as he was being pulled by the hand by none other than Weiss Schnee herself. Shay looked up with half-open eyes as he clumsily strolled alongside the four girls beside him, the buildings were decorated with balloons and flags hanging by strings that stretched from one building to the next, the main colors being green, yellow, and brown. Speaking of buildings: they were everywhere! Shay doubted that even Boston wasn't this big, maybe even rivaling the still-developing city of New York, but he had no time to think about such trifling matters. He had to focus on staying awake.

The five passed along several citizens of Vale, watching as the old shopkeeper from the Dust shop began pulling up a banner labeled 'Welcome to Vale'.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss almost squealed in delight, letting go of Shay's arm and bring both hands to her chest as she closed her eyes and smiled in glee.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out..." Ruby observed.

"I 'ave," Shay mumbled as he almost tripped over the white-haired girl, but was pulled by the collar at the last second, thanks to Yang.

"Woah, easy there big guy. What's wrong with you?" the blonde-haired girl raised an eyebrow as she continued to see the Templar act so off.

"Nothin', nothing's wrong with me," he slurred sleepily as he tried to stand back up straight, but ended up slouching and having to lean on Yang, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder in support.

"Sheesh, you're much heavier than you look," Yang grunted as she practically continued to pull the man alongside with her.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world!" Weiss turned to face the rest of the team, "There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking."

Shay tried not to fall asleep as he watched Weiss skip about as she explained why she was so damn happy.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," Yang sighed as she continued dragging the tired Assassin Hunter, earning a grunt in confirmation from the man.

"Quiet you," Weiss snapped as they continued to walk throughout the city of Vale.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?"

"Ugh, they smell like fish!" Ruby yelled as she pinched her nose in disgust, prompting Shay to then take a whiff of the assumed smell.

"I don't smell anything," Shay said, earning a look of surprise from Yang and the others.

"Really?"

"Aye, Yang, remember I told you I was an explorer of sorts. I traveled extensively by means of water, the smell of the ocean no longer bothers me," Shay answered.

Ah, the _Morrigan_ was a beauty of a sea vessel, despite the fact that it was a mere Sloop, but it had held it's own on more than a few rough occasions.

"Oh yeah," she remembered the first time they had met, the library, after Shay had helped her with cleaning up her boot from an accident involving Vomit-boy on the air-ship.

"Well, I hear that students from Vacuo will be visiting by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom," Weiss nodded enthusiastically.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," Blake explained, earning a huff from Weiss.

"You can't prove that!" she protested.

"Please switch with me, Blake..." Yang whined as she felt the man's full weight press down upon her.

"A middleweight blonde-boxer that could bench press four of her is brought down by a tired student of Beacon," Blake commented dryly, an amused smile spread across her face..

"Oh shut up," Yang replied as she shifted the man over to her other shoulder, Shay merely groaned in irritation as he continued to stumble down the street. The people passing by could only think one thing as they passed by the bumbling man being hoisted by a girl beside him.

 _'Damn, what did this guy drink?'_ most of them thought.

 _'And where can I get some?'_ some others added.

The Templar opened his eyes once more to see a shop vandalized, the place was completely wrecked apart. The door was broken, the windows were smashed, and police tape covered the entrance while two detectives stood in front of it, one with his arms crossed while the other held a notepad and pencil.

"What happened here?" he heard Ruby ask.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle," he answered as he walked over to the other man.

"Ugh, that's terrible," Yang scoffed.

"They left all the money again!" the other detective yelled, causing both Ruby and Shay, who now had his full attention, to look at the shop in suspicion.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick o' sense. Who needs that much Dust?" the first detective asked.

"I dunno, you know what I mean?"

"You thinkin' the uhh, White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough," the second detective answered.

White Fang... he had heard the name before. Shay remembered hearing it on the news several times (though he did his best to even understand the use of television as a recreational activity, he saw it as more informative when it comes to things such as world news). From what he knew, they were an organization of Faunus radicals that were Hell-bent on ridding this planet of 'Human Scum'.

Even then, Weiss' next few comments were still uncalled for, and Blake only made it worse.

"Hmph, the White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates," Weiss exclaimed, closing her eyes as though the statement was plainly true.

"What's your problem?" Blake demanded, giving the shorter girl an irritated look.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane," she answered coldly.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided?! They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet," Weiss pointed out.

"So then they're _very_ misguided," Blake then turned to face the shop.

"Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"She has a point," Shay murmured as he pushed himself off of Yang, who was more than happy to let him walk on his own. And by walk, she meant 'stumble around and eventually fall on Weiss', but she pushed him back up straight as he leaned on her for only a few seconds.

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"It could've been that Torchwick lout, he robbed a store earlier, remember?" Shay answered, recalling the event a few months back, when he and Ruby first worked together... and fail to catch a dangerous criminal.

"You're right. Maybe it was him," Ruby said.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal," Weiss continued to spout this prejudiced hate, earning a very irritated look from both Blake and Shay, and only he knew of Blake's anger for good reason.

"That's not necessarily true," Yang responded, earning a nod from the Templar.

"She's right. I mean, look at Velve-"

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!" they heard a shout from the boat at the docks.

The only man on Team RWBY groaned inwardly as he was forced to run back to the docks with Yang towing him along, both of them knowing of his tired state.

They watched as a blonde-haired boy began running out of the boat. This boy wore red fingerless gloves, a white buttoned shirt, though it was opened, revealing his torso; along with that, he wore blue jeans that were folded up to his ankles, and lastly, he wore black and yellow shoes. What caught Shay's eye the most was the tail that he had, a long yellow appendage that was the same color as the hair atop his head.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!" the boy chuckled as he leaped off the boat before landing on his feet.

"You no-good stowaway!" one of the sailors yelled as the boy jumped onto a lamppost, hanging by his tail with a banana in his hand.

Shay had to relate to the sailors, he had dealt with his own fair share of stowaways back when he sailed on his own little ship. Unfortunately for him, a majority of these stowaways were Assassins. He remembered a time when he was sailing back to the Americas after another 'business trip' in Istanbul, where he discovered that half of the crew was killed and were replaced by Assassins disguised as those sailors.

The _Morrigan_ had never experienced a more violent battle before that day or after.

"Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" he countered, dodging a rock that one of the detectives from earlier had thrown.

"Hey, get down from here this instant!" one of the detectives ordered, only to receive a banana thrown into his face, causing the man to growl in irritation.

The stowaway flipped over until he was crouching on top of the lamppost, laughing evilly before leaping off and continued to evade the authorities.

"Told you," Weiss whispered, only to receive a light smack to the back of the head from Yang, "Hey!"

Shay raised his left hand straight and pressed the Phantom Blade button on his bracer, pointing at the boy who was running up the concrete stairs.

"Don't even think about it," Blake lowered the Templar's arm, who gave her a slightly annoyed look before watching as the boy was about to pass by them.

Time seemed to slow down as the stowaway winked at Blake before continuing his chase from the pair of detectives following after him.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition and there it goes..." Yang said to Weiss, who only looked at her for a second before looking back.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" she yelled, causing Shay to almost do the same as another act of running ensued.

 _Just kill me now... again..._ Shay begged within his mind as his sleep-deprived brain began to take it's toll.

The five ran after the boy, who was still being chased by the two detectives. The Templar watched as they turned around the corner and disappeared. He could only cringe as he heard a grunt as Weiss was the one ahead of the Team.

"No! He got away!" Weiss cried out.

Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Shay watched as Ice Queen got up, currently unaware of the girl that she had toppled over.

"Weiss?" Shay tried to get her attention.

"Huh?"

"Mm," he motioned to the girl in front of Weiss, who was currently giving them a wide, creepy grin. Shay felt a slight, fearful chill up his spine as he stared at this newcomer, who had startled Weiss into standing back up wit the rest of her team.

"Salutations!" this girl greeted. This girl was pale, with green eyes and orange hair that could rival Nora's own hair color, she was dressed in a white and green blouse with black pants, which also had green accents on them.

"Um... hello," Ruby said.

"Are you... okay?" Yang asked, though it sounded as though she was more concerned with her mental health rather than it being physical, as though she was deciding whether or not to get as far away from this girl as possible.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking!" she exclaimed, though she was still on the floor, motionless.

The five that stood before this peculiar girl exchanged as few confused looks before turning back to her.

"Would you like to get up?" Shay asked calmly, breaking the silence between them.

"Yes," she answered as she kicked her legs up, propelling her onto her feet. At that moment, everyone (besides the girl) took a step back in hazard.

"My name is Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you," she introduced herself.

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Shay, Shay Cormac."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked, receiving a jab to the side by Blake, "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Penny said... again.

"Didn't you already say that?" Shay asked inquisitively, curious by this girl's behavior.

Penny paused for a second before looking at them again, "Yes, I did!"

"Well, sorry for running into you," Weiss apologized as she turned around, followed by the rest of her teammates.

"Take care, friend," Ruby waved as she followed behind them, failing the notice the girl lift her head up as the words slowly sank in.

"She was... weird," Yang commented.

"She is a rather peculiar one," Shay added.

"Now, where did that Faunus riffraff run off to?"

"What did you call me?" they heard a voice in front of them ask, causing Shay to look up with wide eyes that seemed to topple the definition of the words 'terrified beyond all rational thought'.

"Wait, how did you-" Shay stopped as both he and Weiss both turned at the spot where she was before in abrupt confusion as they then looked where she was now with a look of disbelief written on their faces.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think you heard me," Yang tried to apologize.

"No, not you," she then walked past the blonde-haired boxer to face Ruby, "You."

"Me?!" Ruby cried out in confusion.

"I-I don't know. I-what I um, uh-"

"You called me 'friend'. Am I really your friend?" she asked.

"Umm..." she looked over Penny's shoulder to see Yang, Blake, and Weiss waving their arms and shaking their heads, the message was pretty clear that they wanted her away from them as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Shay was farthest from the group, leaning on a nearby building and trying not to fall asleep.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Ruby answered, much to the rest of her team's dismay, the three fell over in shock.

Penny then laughed victoriously, "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

This time, as though it was a delayed reaction, Shay fell over in a similar fashion to the others, who were just now getting up.

"Oh... is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asked Weiss, who was brushing off any dust or dirt from her immaculate white dress.

"No, she seems _far_ more coordinated."

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked, turning her head to the side to watch as Shay picked himself off of the ground and walk over to the rest of the team.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament," Penny responded eagerly, standing up straight as she answered the blonde's question.

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked.

"I'm combat ready!" she saluted.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl wearing a dress," Blake responded, causing both Shay to snicker lightly and Yang to give her a mischievous grin.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss snapped, earning a 'yeah!' from Ruby as she instantly appeared beside Weiss and high-fived her, causing the Templar to roll his eyes, catching the attention of Penny.

"Hold on, I thought Huntsman and Huntresses-in-training were meant to be in a Team of four, yet I count five of you. Why?" she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"It's complicated, there was an even number of students before then and I was the odd one out, with me being involved in... last-minute registration," Shay answered, technically telling the truth in a way, watching as she paused for a second, a look of confusion on her face before looking up at him again.

"And you said your name was..."

"Shay Cormac," he repeated as he had told her his name before.

"I've never heard of you," Penny said, then looked down with a concerned expression.

"I doubt a lot of people have heard of my name. With me not exactly coming from the four Kingdoms," he shrugged his shoulders, earning a series of surprised looks from his teammates (as well as a look of unexpected relief, as well as a nod of understanding, from Penny).

"Huh, that explains it," he heard Penny mutter, though he ignored it.

"You're not from the Kingdoms?!" Weiss exclaimed in disbelief, "I thought only the Grimm and several Faunus tribes lived outside of the Kingdoms, there have never been records of a human coming from beyond the Kingdoms, unless..."

"No, Weiss, I am not a Faunus. See?" Shay ran his fingers across his head to show that nothing was hiding underneath his hair.

"You never take off your bracers. Or your pants," Yang pointed out, smirking as she watched the man look at her in annoyance.

"I took off my bracers _once_. And I refuse to let myself give in to your requests of bedding with me," Shay countered, earning a bright blush from Yang and a confused look from Ruby.

"He want's to help make his bed with you?" Ruby wondered.

"Let's go with that," Blake reassured.

 _Without pants... b-but pants time comes after nap time. Why would she- ugh, this is so confusing!_ Ruby mentally screamed, yet looked rather adamant on the outside.

"Y-yeah, but your sleeves were covering your arms, there could be scales or fur underneath. And that was just playful teasing! I'll leave the hot romance between you and your secret admirer," she rebutted, the redness on her face fading slightly as she then turned and winked at Weiss teasingly, knowing full well on her thoughts of Shay (it said so on her diary!).

Weiss blushed at the comment as she looked away from both Yang and Shay, who looked at her in confusion.

"He could be hiding a tail," Blake said, causing Shay to look at her with an irritated look as well. He then lifted his finger to his head and tapped the top of his skull several times; it took a second for Blake to realize her hypocrisy, immediately shutting up after, earning several confused looks.

"All right... so, according to Vytal Tournament rules, if there is an abnormal number of teammates ranging from five or higher (though a number of teammates higher than five has yet to be discovered or recorded), then one or more of such teammates are to be removed and cannot participate in the tournament," Penny explained, changing the subject on Shay's assumed origins or heritage.

This then snapped Weiss out of her embarrassed expression as she then faced Penny, "Wait a minute. If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

 _Quite a vocabulary she has,_ Shay thought. She indeed had a vast array of words at her disposal, yet so did he. Besides, Haytham and the rest of the Order made sure that the man had a proper education (having to pay more than usual due to his Irish heritage) at the Harvard University, where he spent some five years of his life learning and educating himself on various things.

Now that he thought about it, it explained why he was so indifferent about taking part in Beacon's academic studies.

"The who?" Penny asked.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Weiss explained.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Blake demanded.

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He's a person!" she snapped at the white-haired girl.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan, or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss motioned to both the trash can and the lamppost, earning a glare from Shay at her callous nature.

"Stop it!" Blake yelled.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, and he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang."

"You ignorant little brat!" the raven-haired girl growled, her hand curling into a fist before turning and walking away in frustration.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl," Blake responded.

"What in the world makes you say that?!" Weiss yelled.

"Uhh, I think we should probably go," Yang suggested to the only two that weren't in the argument.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked.

Scratch that, make that three people.

"No no, Penny, just us. We have to get back to Beacon before it gets dark," Ruby sighed.

"Oh... okay then, I guess I'll see you guys later. Bye, friends!" Penny frowned lightly for a second before resuming her cheerful smile and turning to walk away.

Shay, Yang, and Ruby continued to listen to both of the girls' arguing, wondering when it would stop.

"i can't wait 'till we get back," Yang groaned.

"Aye," Shay merely said, thinking of the rest that would await him.

Wait a minute, rest... oh God, how did he not notice it?

"Oh God," Shay mumbled as he collapsed face-first onto the pavement below him, snapping Weiss and Blake out of their heated argument.

"Guys, I think he fainted," Yang pressed her fingers to his neck, "Yup, boy's out cold."

"Well, we can't just drag him back to Beacon. What now?" Weiss asked as she looked down at the sleeping form of Shay, bringing back some... rather embarrassing memories, specifically one involving Yang and her damned Scroll.

"Let's get him to a bench, or a cafe, anything! He needs something to wake him up!" Ruby yelled.

"Tried slapping him yet?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, few weeks back. Shay's a heavy sleeper," Ruby explained, watching as Yang picked him up over her shoulder once more.

"Well then, let's go find that cafe and get him something," she grunted as she began to carry the man over her shoulder, with Ruby walking beside her, as well as Weiss and Blake on the opposite sides of the group.

Though they were painfully unaware of the boy walking in front of them. This collision caused Ruby to stumble and fall onto her back as well as cause Yang to stumble just a little.

"Huh, you okay, miss?" Ruby looked up to see a hand being offered to her, which she quickly took as it then hoisted her to her feet. She then froze as she felt a pair of fingers trace across the sides of her face, as though in curiosity, automatically causing her to blush at the amount of touching of her face.

"Now what do we have here? Pure radiance, quite an anomaly," the man muttered before his face froze for a split second, "Silver? Now this is interesting."

"Hey, stop touching my sister, you pervert!" Yang pulled him away before looking at him for several seconds, her eyes widening in realization at what she was seeing.

"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't know-" Yang stuttered.

"It's fine, you see a stranger touching your sister's face, you immediately assume the worst," the man shrugged, his back facing all but Yang, who was doing her best to apologize.

"Umm, thanks, mister...-"

"Hey, you need to watch where you're going next time!" Weiss yelled at the man.

"That's kinda hard, considering the fact that I can't. _Schnee_ ," she heard a cold, cynical voice respond, the voice was much colder than her own. Yet despite the apathy in that sentence, she recognized that voice anywhere, and the signature bat ears on top of his head.

"Wait a minute... Kane? Is that you?" Weiss asked in disbelief. The boy turned to face Weiss. Or at least her voice, due to the heavy amount of bandages covering his eyes.

"Hold on, you know this guy?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow, considering the fact that this guy was a Faunus.

The young man standing before them had slightly ruffled black hair, almost as though it was part of it was meant to be spiked up. He wore a white-buttoned dress shirt under a black vest as well as a pair of black dress pants with black shoes. On top of his head was a pair of brown bat ears that seemed to twitch at every possible sound.

But the bandages that covered his eyes, or even the bat ears on his head were not the most peculiar of all things.

It was that condescending smirk on his face. Just looking at it meant that he always had a reason to be angry, yet he never seemed to show it.

"Yeah, Kane Hart, former heir to the Hart Trading Co., at all of your services," he bowed slightly before standing up straight, his mouth dropping into an angry frown, "All but Schnee's."

"Wait, what did I do to? And weren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I was. Eight years ago," he shot at her, causing Weiss to flinch, "And your family is responsible for this little accident."

They watched as he pointed to the bandages covering his eyes with his left hand, while drumming his walking stick against the sidewalk.

"Wait, 'former heir'?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll explain later. But right now, I hear a slower heartbeat, you have a friend that needs to be woken up, and I heard something about a cafe. Luckily, I know the best one, follow me," he turned and walked away, tapping the ground repeatedly with his walking stick.

"Should we trust this guy?" Yang whispered suspiciously.

"You know, I can still hear you!" 'Kane' yelled, causing her to freeze.

"Yeah, if there's anyone trustworthy that I know, Kane is one of them," Weiss reassured.

"All right, I guess that settles it. If Weiss can trust a Faunus, we know he's good," Blake replied sarcastically.

"Oh I'm not finished with you!" Weiss yelled.

"We're burning daylight and I don't hear footsteps!" they heard again.

"Fine, we're coming!" Ruby called out as they ran quickly to follow after him.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

Yang laid Shay down on a small metal chair, the six sat on identical steel chairs, around a circular wooden table under a green and white umbrella. Yang refused a drink, Ruby brandished a cup filled with coffee, her request of the coffee involving cream and five cubes of sugar, while Weiss sat beside Shay, two cups of coffee sitting on the table.

"All right, explain," Blake finally said, holding a small cup of tea in her hands.

"Straight to the point, aren't you. Well, to shorten it up for you, Kitty-cat. Daddy Schnee, who still to this day had workers who acted as... indentured servants, and Daddy Hart decided to have a joint business agreement. You see, the Schnee Dust Company was basically a monopoly even back when Schnee Jr.-"

"It's Weiss, how can you forget my name?!" she demanded.

Blake's eyes also widened at the name 'Kitty-cat'. How did he-? Oh right, bat Faunus were always the keenest when it came to their five senses. She looked around to see that the rest of her teammates had ignored the comment from Kane.

"I never forgot your name, just our assumed friendship. So we're on a last name basis until you're forgiven, and that's going to take a looooong time. Now where was I?"

"Schnee Jr.?"

"Oh yeah, right. Okay; -and I were even born; and the Hart Company was one of the largest companies to date, this would be a game-changer in business should the two companies decide to merge. As for me and Schnee at the young age of nine, were inseparable, we laughed together, played together and all that. It was all fun until the Hart Company got death threats from the White Fang, messages that said they would kill us and the Schnees if we signed the agreement. But my Old Man laughed at the threats, and he would've laughed at their faces if they were in front of him. But suddenly, when Schnee was about to sign the agreement, members of the White Fang came in and began slaughtering everyone there. Unfortunately, I was there too, luckily the Schnees, my dad, and I came out unscathed. But it turns out, one of them survived and decided to chuck a grenade at the Schnees, but the guy probably had terrible aim. The bomb went off in my face," Kane stifled a small laugh, knowing the girls' expressions by now.

"Luckily I actually survived the blast, but it was my eyes that were the cost. Even worse, when I recovered, I heard Mr. Schnee accusing my father of working with the White Fang and mentally scarring his little girl, I'm talking about little Schnee here since Winter was decent enough to bring flowers to my room. The began the _Schnee v. Hart_ trial, this is the part where Schnee takes all my dad's money, leaves the rest of my family in near-poverty and becomes an ultra-racist. And we all lived happily ever after, the end," he said with a nod. They all turned to look at Weiss, who was currently red-faced in embarrassment and rage.

"Why you little-" she screamed, reaching for her sword.

"My my, Schnee, you've certainly changed. Last time I heard from you after my accident, you were only fifteen and described as extremely docile. You barely managed to pass your first year according to the school records. But what was it that changed? Perhaps it was Wins-"

He then stopped as he felt the end of a blade touch the bottom of his chin.

"Don't. You dare. Say his name," Weiss growled, sitting back down after Yang and Ruby pulled her back into her seat.

The bat Faunus didn't even look fazed.

"All right, if you insist," he waved his hand to the side before hearing a small groan from the unconscious man beside him, "Oh, it seems that your boyfriend is waking up. I must take my leave now, hope you three enjoyed the drinks.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Weiss shouted at Kane, who only shrugged his shoulders and got up from his seat

"Wait, isn't it a little strange that you just barged into us while you were just wandering around, yet Weiss was in our group?" Yang asked.

"And how were you able to pay for our drinks if you were in 'near-poverty'? Blake added.

"Well, I was just going on a leisurely stroll through the city until I caught a whiff of what smelled like bleach and bigotry, and I thought to myself, 'now that's something I haven't smelled in a long time', so I assumed the worst. As for you, Schnee's friend, I did say 'near', didn't I? Besides, that was a long time ago," Kane then turned around and began walking away.

"My hair's natural!" Weiss screamed at him.

"Sure it is," he muttered before turning around the corner and disappearing.

"Well he seemed..." Ruby tried to say something, but couldn't think of anything good to say.

"Rude," Weiss answered, "He blames me for something my father did to him. How dare he thinks that I'm like him!"

"He's not wrong so far," Blake mumbled, though quiet enough so Weiss didn't hear her.

The four watched as Shay began to stir and open his eyes, blinking several times before looking back at the four staring at him.

"What-"

"You fell asleep," Blake answered before Shay could finish his question. He merely nodded slowly and looked down at the cup in front of him.

"W-"

"We got you coffee, you need the sugar to wake you up," Weiss explained.

Shay brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. He then recoiled from the drink and spat it out.

"What's wrong? Is it bad?" Ruby lowered her head and whimpered. She did choose the drink for him after all...

"Too... hot!" Shay tried to get the intense, fiery burning out of his mouth as his hand clasped around his mouth, relieving the pain somewhat.

"Dolt. Well, now that you're awake. Let's just get going now," Weiss got up and began heading for the airship that was still grounded at the landing area.

"Good idea," Ruby said as the rest of the team got up and followed her once more, making their way back to the airships.

As soon as they left, Kane continued walking down the street, his walking stick drumming away at the pavement below. In his hands was a small red and black leather-bound book.

Shay's journal.

He had picked up the book when Yang felt Shay slipping from her grip, causing her to lift him up once more. Kane heard as the book almost silently hit the sidewalk, he had meant to return it, but the ink in between the pages of the book was what got his attention. It smelled like sea-salt, of an unknown ocean. But the seas of Remnant consisted of fresh-water, with rather low concentrations of salt deriving from the waste of fish beneath the waters.

This man was not of Remnant, Kane had thought. Since the young bat Faunus cannot read due to his lack of eyesight, he knew someone else that could read it for him. Oh, to uncover the mysteries behind such a man was simply astounding in the thought alone.

Kane only needed to find the boy and girl that usually accompanied him. He only needed to search either the hotels, or the rooftops. That blasted girl was always searching for a job, Kane had thought.

 **-Hide in Plain sight-**

 **Beacon Academy  
9:25 PM  
Day 2, Friday (Month 11, Year 0)**

As soon as they reached their Dorm, the argument immediately started once again, only in a more 'private' matter, if private meant just away from the ears of everyone that was not a member of Team RWBY.

Shay stood between Yang and Ruby as they continued to watch this vicious debate continue to ensue. The Templar would've laid down on his own bed, if it wasn't between these two argumentative Huntresses-in-training.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss protested, sitting on her bed, facing Blake.

Thank goodness the walls were sound-absorbent.

"That _is_ the problem," Blake said, sitting on her bed, facing Weiss.

"You realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as 'pure evil'! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like _you_ that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake shouted, getting up from her bed.

"People like me?!" Weiss demanded.

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" the Heiress shot back.

"Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang so much? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" Weiss asked, turning to look out the window.

 _Everyone but Kane,_ every member of Team RWBY, excluding Shay, who had yet to meet this individual, much more even be aware of his existence, thought simultaneously.

She placed her hands on the bookshelf in front of her, "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My Grandfather's company has had a target painted across it's back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, an entire train car full of Dust stolen," Weiss explained.

 _And... my mentor, killed in cold blood because of a single mistake I made,_ she thought, trying to fight back tears.

"-And every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a _**very** _ difficult childhood," her hand clenched into a fist, listening to the sounds of Ruby walking over to her.

"Weiss, I-"

"No!" She yelled, then turning back to face Blake with a furious look on her face.

"Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they're a bunch of liars! Thieves! And murderers!" Weiss screamed as she continued to slowly approach Blake with each slandering insult.

 _This is not going to be good,_ Shay thought, knowing of Blake's heritage.

"Well maybe we're just tired of being pushed around!" Blake screamed back, her deepening scowl faltered into a look of panic as Weiss back away with a shocked expression on her face.

Blake looked to see that everyone else shared the same expression, while Shay just gulped with widened eyes.

 _Okay, this is REALLY not going to be good,_ Shay thought again. He was aware of Blake's Faunus traits, but never her origins.

As a member of the White Fang.

"I-I-" Blake stuttered before disappearing from the room in an instant, leaving a group of shocked team members.

Ruby was the first to snap out of her stupor.

"Blake! Wait! Come back!" she yelled as she ran to the door and stopped, not knowing what to do next.

Now Shay was the next, who decided to take action. He turned and pushed past Ruby.

"Where do you think you're going?" Weiss demanded.

"I'm going after our teammate, you little brat," Shay growled, causing Weiss to flinch at his words, as though a knife was embedded into her heart.

At that moment, he heard Pyrrha open the door of their own Dorm.

"Shay? Ruby? What's going o-"

"You're training Jaune on your own for today, I have something to take care of," he whispered as he looked at Weiss one last time with the most cold expression anyone has ever seen, a look of disappointment.

Within minutes, he spotted Blake and the monkey-Faunus from earlier outside in the courtyard.

"Blake!" he shouted. Blake turned to see the Templar walking towards her, and in fear, she fled, followed by the other Faunus running with her as well.

Shay chased after the two as they stealthily stowed away on a late-night airship that was about to take off.

While they managed to get in, the former Assassin was not so fortunate. The airship began to lift off of the ground as soon as he got near. With one powerful jump, he grabbed ahold of one of railings, hanging on for dear life as they ascended over the Emerald Forest, which was only a short drop of a few kilometers above ground.

The Templar, who swallowed back his fear, grabbed onto one of the other ledges and pulled himself up higher and higher up more obstacles, almost falling off as one part of the ship came undone, causing him to fall until he grabbed onto the nearest object. He continued this process of climbing until he was found himself on top of the airship and collapsing onto his back in both fright and exhaustion, watching as the city of Vale came into view.

Minutes passed as the airship slowed to a halt as it descended onto it's landing area.

Shay rolled onto his stomach and crawled until he managed to see two silhouettes in the darkness.

He activated his Vision to see that these two were Blake and the Faunus running out of the ship. Their glowing figures were tinted in a blur of red and blue, making Shay unsure of their current affiliations.

So now he would have to find out. Shay sighed in disappointment, hoping that it wouldn't come to this.

He reached over his shoulder, his hand trailing between the back of his neck and the back portion of the collar of his outfit. Inside was a hidden pocket that one couldn't see even with a trained eye. He grasped the fabric and brought it out.

It was a hood that was hidden beneath the pocket. With one swift move, he brought it over his head, covering his eyes to the outside world and concealing half of his face in shade.

The hunt has now begun.

But meanwhile in Beacon, after several hours had passed, the girls fell asleep after staying up arguing over Blake's fate, then falling asleep from sudden sleep deprivation.

But Weiss was the one who had stayed up longer than the other two. An hour, after Yang and Ruby fell asleep, had passed. But what has Weiss been doing in that hour?

She could do nothing be realize the friendship she had between Shay and she were now burned down into naught but ashes. And so she cried quietly, tears streaming down her face as she realized the situation that she had put herself in.

During the whole of the argument, she forgot what kind of man Shay was. He was a man who saw past difference, and saw people for only their true nature, rather than their appearances.

She lost a friend, two friends if she could still count Blake, and she knew that Shay was not keen on forgiving. So she continued to cry until sleep finally greeted her saddened form.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 _ **Unknown:**_

 _ **The pain... the pain was finally gone.**_

 _ **He slowly rose to his feet and stumbled for a bit before regaining his balance. He now took the time to survey his surroundings, only to realize he was just in same place as he was before.**_

 _ **Interesting... feet. Five singular digits on each foot. The feet were bound in black leather boots.**_

 _ **He looked down at his hands, no longer paws that contained claws used for tearing and slashing. Pale white skin, they were.**_

 _ **Clothing was such a strange concept to this new 'man'. A black shirt under a black leather coat.**_

 _ **It seemed that he was dressed completely in black, including his new pants, which were also a dark ebony as well.**_

 _ **His hands flexed, testing out the new replacements to his claws**_

 ** _This man turned to face what he now knew was the city of Vale, given his new array of knowledge._**

 ** _He cleared his throat before uttering five words._**

"Free... now I am free," **_he said before beginning a slow pace to the city filled to the brim with humans and Faunus._**

 ** _It was about time he paid a special visit to the Hunter._..**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: And now it's up!**

 **What do you think of my OC? (and no, I'm currently not going to take OC requests for the time being)**

 **Edited: At first, Kane was going to be based by appearance on a certain Batman character, but due to his personality and assumed upbringing, he seems more akin to the original Dracula, with a bit of my own lore thrown into the mix, not only that, he bears a pair of bat ears, so it seemed doable.**

 **Also, remember when I said I wouldn't add the hood? Well, I changed my mind.**

 **So yeah, I'll be working a little faster on my stories since it's the Thanksgiving break, so expect a few more chapters from RWBY: The Hunter and Belladonna and the Bat: Asylum.**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter, cuz' Kane sure can't (I'll go now...)**

 **Alright, stay beautiful, ladies and gents and I'll see you all later!**


	12. Chapter 12: Father of Understanding

**Q &A:**

 **Deep Sea Dive** **r** **Man: Nope, those puns were beautiful. Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis? **

**Ted: Oh my.**

 **Advent:** **I understand. Hell, I even empathize with you there, some OCs (in a majority of fanfic stories involving OCs ever) are usually Gary Stu'd and OP'd to the point where they are unlikable and unrealistic (the pacifist, the brooding guy with an equally depressing origin story who is also extremely OP, etc., etc, ad nauseam); so to be fair, you're right, but I planned everything here before I started it, so I can't stop from there. Also, yeah, Kane is deliberately meant to be a jackass, but at least not a "you-don't-know-what-I've-been-through" jackass, he's just really, _really_ snarky. **

**P.S. to you, my good sir: notice how I don't use the not-so-original OC template (name, eye color, personality, etc.), that's because I want the readers to figure out each character from their own perspectives, not _just_ by me slamming a paper into people's faces and yelling, "This is obviously how he's supposed to act! So get used to it!" So yeah, I don't expect this to sway your opinion, but I think clarification was needed.**

 **P.P.S: I said they would play a major _ROLE_ , not that they would be major _CHARACTERS_ , those are two completely separate things. They won't really be involved with canon, probably a few cameo interactions (as well as some potential world-building) between RWBY, JNPR, and the OCs, but other than that, they'll play a different role. **

**potato man: I... didn't know that, thanks for pointing that out. Until an earlier story with Penny being skeptical of the outlander is found, I CLAIM THIS AS ORIGINALITY! Also, I just thought it made sense since Penny's an android, made with the help of Ironwood, who is of Atlas, a more or less "police" nation (*cough* The USA *cough*. Just kidding, I'm front the States and it seemed reasonable to make this joke). Having a database containing every person living the four kingdoms makes sense for a robot made by a militaristic kingdom, so I went with it.**

 **anonymo: (Doc/O'Malley Voice) Yes! Victory will be mine, and all will subject to my rule! Muahahahahaha! (calms down) Oh God, what have I become?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! **

**Yeah, Syndicate's awesome. I loved how they got rid of multiplayer to focus on the story (to be more like Assassin's Creed II than Unity ever could... seriously, the combat in both games reminds me of (with the exception of Syndicate, because it was the better of the two) a watered-down version of the ACII fighting system). So yeah, I love AC Syndicate.**

 **Also, if you have any cool and awesome ideas for this fic, be sure to PM me.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **A** **s a thought that I had that I would keep in the story: Scrolls can be used by those that are not of Beacon or any other Academies. Though the larger tablet-versions are for a more professional use while the smaller, more compact Scrolls are for a similar use as smartphones. That is all.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed**

 _The air is still... and I am, a Hunter..._

* * *

 **Vale  
10:43 AM  
Day 4, Sunday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"So-" Blake said, watching as Sun stopped in mid-drink, as he was sipping from a porcelain cup, to listen to her. The two sat in front of a table on the top floor of a cafe, facing each other as they continued to drink from their cups.

"-You wanna know more about me."

"Finally, she speaks!" Sun exclaimed, raising his arms above his head, "Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks."

Blake's neutral expression dropped into a glare, further proving the blonde Faunus' point.

"Yeah! Like that," he said, causing Blake to roll her eyes before looking at him once more.

"Sun... are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course. I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them," Sun answered, "Stupid holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get what whatever they want. Bunch of freaks if you ask me."

Blake watched as Sun took a sip from his glass before doing so herself, "I was... once a member of the White Fang."

The Faunus opposite of her choked on his drink and dropped it on the small plate in front of him as he continued to cough.

"Wait a minute, _you_ were a member of the White Fang?!" he asked in disbelief, Blake nodded and blinked slowly.

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it," she answered, before lowering her head slightly and began to explain in more detail, "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the Faunus."

Sun listened intently, watching as Blake took another sip from her glass.

"Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people; and I was there. I was at the front of every rally, I took part in every boycott, and I thought we were actually making a difference... but I was just a youthful optimist."

She paused for a second and looked over her shoulder for a second, Sun did the same thing a second later; the two turned back to face each other once more.

"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. A new leader with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was? It was working, we were being treated like equals. But not out of respect, out of fear."

Blake set her cup back on her plate, "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. And instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow," she wiggled her ears from within her bow.

"So... have you told any of your friends about this?" he asked, taking a sip from his cup again

"No, they found out. I left before they or I could say anything. I know three of them would've understood, heck, one of them even followed us as we left. But I know that another... friend of mine, Weiss, wouldn't put up with it. She is a Schnee, after all."

Sun then choked on his drink again and set it down before any more damage to his lungs could occur, "A Schnee?!"

Blake gave him a melancholic smile, "I know. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Mm hmm," he nodded, then looked over from the building to get a better look at something peculiar, before his eyes widened and he looked at Blake.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We better go, I have a feeling we're being watched," Sun answered as he got up from his chair and headed away into the building, Blake got up from her seat as well before looking back to see what had the boy on edge. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw who it was.

It was Shay, facing her from across the street, his arms were crossed and his face was concealed by a hood that she had never seen on his coat before. She continued to watch as the figure kept standing there, before a large crowd of people quickly passed by the large figure and hid him for only half a second before he disappeared, most likely into the crowd.

She looked at Sun one more time, "You're right, we need to get out of here."

 **-Hide in plain sight-**

For the past two days, Blake and Sun, the monkey Faunus who's name the Templar had just recently learned, continued to elude him. Shay had put his skills of tracking Assassins to use, having to search for the pair for days on end.

It pained him that he had to search for the two like this. He really didn't want to hunt them like animals, but for the first few times of directly confronting Blake during his first day of searching for the two, they ran upon his immediate presence. It was obvious that he stood out too easily to them, now Shay had decided to adjust.

So he had to blend in a little bit more differently. For starters, he had mistakenly left his air rifle and his gloves back at the Dorms, and he didn't have the time or the patience to go back and retrieve them. What he wore was more or less his Beacon uniform only with his Templar overcoat (having to also remove the strap with the Templar Cross on it, to hide any recognition of him) rather than the stiff, uncomfortable suit that he was all too familiar with; and for the sake of remaining unidentified from any familiar faces, he stole a black cap from an unnoticing passerby and placed on top of his own head.

The ribbon was undid from his hair so it was not in the ponytail that his team was familiar with, and shifting some of the hair of his right eye to hide his scar. As well as pulling up the mask, that was wrapped around his neck, up to his mouth, to obscure his identity furthermore.

For now, Shay had sat himself on a bench, reading from a newspaper that he had found, consisting of small Grimm skirmishes around Remnant, recent attacks from the White Fang, and tabloids over celebrity and government conspiracies (much to the Templar's displeasure). He was lazily skimming through the words, his mind only paying marginal attention to the black and white papers in his hands, while the rest of him was lowering the paper ever so slightly to keep an eye out for any black-clad Huntresses-in-training or any blonde Faunus stowaways that could appear in his line of sight.

For the past two days, he rented rooms for himself only when he needed to sleep, having to immediately get up, get dressed, and continue searching for the pair that had disappeared days earlier.

An hour had passed and he was getting impatient. Perhaps they had seen through his disguise and decided to take advantage of his overthinking suspicion. Was his disguise really that transparent?

After another half-hour had progressed, Shay finally got up from his seat, laid the paper down on the wooden bench, and began to walk down the sidewalk once more. He looked around to see more people walking around the city, some keeping their eyes ahead of what was right in front of them, while others were looking down at their Scrolls as they passed by. Before, he had been astounded by such advancements in technology, as humanity has come so far in the realms of science and engineering; but now he had grown accustomed to it.

Two months really could do a lot.

Shay looked up as he heard a familiar sound, airships descending. He had no doubt who was on that ship: the rest of team RWBY. He followed the sounds of the airship for the next few minutes before he saw three new figures walking in his direction:

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang.

"Blaaaake! Shaaaayyy!" Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Blaaaaake!?" Yang yelled alongside her younger sister.

"Blaaaaake! Where are yoooouuu?!" she continued to yell.

"Blake! Shay?!" Weiss then shouted, a somber look on her face as she called out to the Faunus and the Templar.

Ruby turned to face the Heiress, "Weiss, you're not helping!"

She only sighed sadly, "I'm sure the police might help..."

"Weiss!"

 _She really hasn't changed her opinion over this dilemma, now has she?_ Shay thought to himself as he continued walking, hoping that his disguise would work.

Shay didn't want the girls to get involved with his own investigation, they might slow him down too.

"It was just an idea..." she mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah, a bad one," Ruby muttered as she turned away to continue their search for their teammates.

"Weiss, I think we should hear both sides of the story before we jump to any conclusions," Yang advised before looking at the man that was walking right past them, a concerned look appeared on her face.

"Hey you," she called out.

The disguised Shay turned to look at her with a confused expression.

"Me?" he disguised his voice with both a false accent that was similar to the accent the people of Vale used, also using his mask to muffle his voice somewhat.

"Excuse me sir, I... we're looking for a friend of ours. Blake Belladonna, have you seen her anywhere?" Ruby asked meekly, joining in Yang's observation of the man.

He shook his head, "No, never heard of her."

They looked down in sadness.

"I hope you find her though, good luck," Shay did his best to cheer them up somewhat.

Yang nodded her head at the 'stranger', "Thanks."

"No problem," he said before turning away and walking before running into one particular person who was following the trio: Penny.

"Oh, my apologies!" Penny said as she stumbled a bit and bumped into Weiss, catching their attention.

"It's fine," he said, earning a suspicious look from her before turning back to look at the other three.

"Penny?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Agh! Penny, where did you come from?!" Ruby shouted in surprise, looking at the copper-haired girl in front of the three.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" she asked.

"Uuuuhhh..."

"We're looking for our friend, Blake," Yang said for Ruby.

Shay began to walk away from the now four girls, stopping to look at them one more time.

"Ooooh... you mean the Faunus girl!" she said, the three in front of her blinked simultaneously.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked

"Uh, the cat ears?" Penny said, pointing to her head.

"What cat ears? She wears a... bow..." Yang trailed off as she began to realize what she had just said.

They failed to notice the tumbleweed that passed by.

"She does like tuna a lot," Ruby whispered.

"So, where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know, she's been missing since Friday," Ruby explained, "Along with another friend of ours, Shay."

"What do you mean? You just passed him a few minutes ago," Penny said with a perplexed look on her face.

"What since when?!" Weiss demanded loudly.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shay felt something large grab onto his shoulder and pull him into a dark alleyway.

"He was wearing a cap, he was standing right over... there..." Penny slowed down as she noticed the lack of a disguised Shay.

"Umm... is there something wrong, Penny?" Ruby asked her, while Yang and Weiss' mouths fell open in realization.

 _That bastard!_ Yang growled.

 _You complete idiot!_ Weiss seethed.

"Nope, nothing's wrong!" she exclaimed.

Shay, on the other hand, was continually pulled to the side by the large man that had grabbed onto his shoulder and was then slammed into the wall, causing him to emit a groan.

"Is this the guy, Arty?" the man spoke in a deep, gruff voice.

"Mm hmm, that's him," Shay heard a feminine voice say.

"Okay then, buddy. You and I are going to have a bit of a talk," the man said as picked the Templar up once more and dragged him into a building.

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

Shay found himself suspended over the edge of a building, a thirty-foot drop was guaranteed, should the man let go of Shay's collar.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Shay yelled in a mix of fear and confusion as he continued to dangle in the air.

The man that held Shay up was large and burly, larger than Shay. Short reddish-brown hair cropped out on top of the man's head along with a small stubble of a beard with the same color. He wore a dark orange leather jacket and dark grey fatigue pants, along with a pair of black combat boots that were more than likely steel-toed. Slung to his back was what appeared to be a sort of large two-handed rifle with a ridiculously large barrel; what was even stranger was the pair of axe heads that extended from opposite ends at the edge of the barrel.

"You have someone to apologize to," he answered with a neutral expression, before a girl appeared from behind him.

The girl's hair was a sort of blue, aqua, to be precise, and was tied back in a bun; her eyes were a gleaming deep red, which held an irritated look as she continued to glare at the Templar. She wore a dark blue shirt under a grey bolero jacket. Below the waist, she wore tan shorts with black combat boots that were similar to the man that was holding Shay up by the collar of his overcoat.

Slung from the back of her waist was some sort of rectangular contraption, similar to Ruby's weapon when it was not used in combat.

"You don't know how long it took me to find you," she said, her voice was high-pitched, in a similar fashion to Ruby, but with a sharp authoritative tone to it, "After weeks of trying to find you, all it took was a good friend of mine who pointed out all the same attributes that _you_ possess."

For some strange reason, her voice sounded familiar, even before he met Ruby.

Shay immediately activated his Phantom blade from his left bracer and fired a bolt at the girl, who turned her head to dodge the bolt and caught it at the same time. He then felt the man loosening his grip on Shay, making the Templar instinctively grab onto his wrist, because if he was going to die, then he would put all his effort in to take someone with him.

"Impressive. Willow, let him go," she commanded as she continued to inspect the projectile that was fired upon her, earning a look from the larger man.

"Dead or alive?" he asked.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Alive, you idiot."

The man known as 'Willow' merely sniffed sharply and tossed the Templar to the floor of the roof beside them.

"Be more specific next time you say something like that, Artemis," Willow chastised the girl, who merely huffed and crossed her arms.

They watched as Shay slowly got up, his hand reaching for his sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the girl know as 'Artemis' warned. Shay glared at the girl and lowered his arm.

"Good, now-" she tossed the bolt back to Shay, who caught it and returned it to the miniature crossbow on his hidden blade bracer, "-I believe you owe me an apology."

Shay's eye twitched in anger as the words left her mouth, "And why exactly would I do that? In fact, I think you owe _me_ an apology, after your lackey held me over a building and threatened to drop me."

"Eh, you would've survived. Your Aura would've cushioned the fall," she smirked, which then dropped into a frown, "And Willow here is no lackey, he's my friend."

"You got that right," Willow growled.

"Then why-"

"People tend to forget that when someone is in a similar situation as you were previously, the fear goes to their head and they begin to panic," she explained with a shrug.

"Alright then, so why should I apologize to you of all people?"

The girl brought her hand to her chin in mock thought, "Well, if my memory serves me. The last time I saw you was when you were checking into a hotel and you left so abruptly _without returning the card_."

Shay gave her a confused look before it dawned on him just seconds after.

When he first arrived to Remnant, when he had finished speaking with the old shopkeeper of the Dust shop that was then robbed by Torchwick, the old man gave him directions to a hotel. When he reached the hotel, he came across a girl that was behind a counter, typing on a computer (he now knew the name of the device that she was using).

This must have been her. But why is she holding a grudge?

"So you immediately hunt me down, for losing a card?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I lost my job because of you!" the girl yelled.

Oh... right.

"Fine, I'm sorry, I didn't know that would happen. Happy now?" Shay demanded.

"Saying sorry isn't going to help. Now normally, I would just break every bone in your body and drop you off at the nearest hospital, but a good friend of mine told me not to hurt you. So, until then, you owe me."

Shay watched as she turned and walked up to the man beside her, "Oh where are my manners? My name is Artemis Dawes and big guy here is Willow Anoran."

He narrowed his eyes at to the two in suspicion, "This does not make us friends."

Artemis cocked her head to the side, "I never said we were friends, I said we were okay, and that you owe me."

"How did you find me anyway?" Shay asked as the two began to turn and walk away, who paused and looked back at him.

"Me and Willow's mutual friend, he told us about you, which is how I managed to track you down for the last two days. Willow over here-" she motioned to the man, who still glared at the Templar, "-absolutely loves theatrics. So it seemed beneficial in his nature to dramatically pull you aside into an alley when we finally found you."

"That was hardly an explanation. How. The hell. Did you manage to track me down?" he demanded.

"With my friend's description, I kept an eye out from the rooftops for anyone that fits your attributes. After I found you... well, here we are now. Aren't we?" she then turned and began to walk away once more.

"Wait!"

Artemis groaned and turned back to face the man once more, "What!?"

"Have you seen a... friend of mine? Her name is Blake."

"I might have. For the right price," she sneered as she held out her hand.

Shay raised an eyebrow in amusement, "What? You want me to take you to dinner as well?"

The sneer immediately dropped as she glared furiously at him, "I am not a-"

"Prove it then," this time, Shay mimicked her sneer and directed it at her.

It seemed that some of Yang's excuses for humor was beginning to rub off on him. It was not a good feeling.

"Fine, but you owe me again! What does this friend of yours look like?" she placed her hands on her hips and continued to glare.

"Yellow eyes, wears a black bow," Shay described. Artemis looked up in thought.

"Yeah, last time I saw someone like that, she was walking with some Faunus guy near 9th and South Roan, I'd search there," she answered before turning away.

"Thank you," he nodded as the two turned away once more.

"See ya later, Shay," Artemis said as she began to walk down a metal stairwell on the side of the building, Willow followed closely behind her.

Shay sighed in relief as the two left, experiencing a state of panic tended to do that to someone. They were an odd bunch, they carried weapons of similar technology to Huntsmen, yet he doubted they were members of any Academies.

Now to search for Blake and Sun...

Wait a minute, how did that girl know his name?

"Wait!" Shay yelled as he looked over the building to find them, but they were gone.

The Templar silently cursed at their disappearance, but he had other matters at hand.

For starters: where the bloody hell was 9th and South Roan?

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

Blake and Sun continued to walk down the street, inwardly pondering over subjects regarding the White Fang.

"So what's the plan now?" Sun asked, his hands placed behind his head as he continued to walk beside the girl.

Blake sighed, "I don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

"What if they did?" Sun asked, his hands dropping down as he turned to face the disguised Faunus.

"I mean, the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it and not find them there... right?" he tried to explain, though it sounded more strained than it should have.

Though Blake looked down and quickly made sense of what he was trying to say, "The only thing is, I have no idea where that would be."

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a _huge_ shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?" she asked.

" _Huge_. Big Schnee Company freighter," he said, raising his arms over his head in emphasis.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I heard it was over by the docks," Sun answered.

"Well, let's go then, what're we waiting for?" Blake asked.

"Woah, hasty aren't ya?" he smirked lightly.

Blake then glared at him.

"Fine, fine. You go on ahead, I'll be with you in a sec."

"Alright, you better meet me at the docks when I get there," she warned.

Sun raised his hands in protest, "Hey, it's me, remember?"

"I've only known you for two days."

"...Touche," he admitted, "All right, sounds like a plan, I'll see you soon."

Blake nodded and began her walk to the docks.

Sun watched as she disappeared from view.

"What a woman," he sighed in amazement as looked up, the sun was beginning to set.

He pulled out his Scroll and began typing in a number and then held the device up to his ear.

The Scroll began to ring as it waited for the person on the other line to respond.

" _Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system-"_

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hurry it up," Sun grumbled as he waited for the 'leave a message after the beep'.

 _"Please leave a message after the tone."_

Meh, close enough.

 ** _'Beep.'_**

"Hey Neptune, sorry 'bout this, but I'm going to be late... again. Sooooo, I'm going to need you to hold down the fort with Scarlet and Sage for a little while longer. Think you can handle it? Just stay cool, buddy. I'll see you in a little bit-" Sun froze as he heard steps behind him, he turns to see someone walking over to him.

It was the same guy that was following them from earlier. The man pulled off his hood and removed his cap, letting it fall to the ground as he also pulled off the mask that covered his mouth and nose as well.

"-Um... I'll call you again when I get back. See ya later," he shut off his Scroll and looked as the man continued to approach him.

"...Heeeyyy," Sun tried to say as he slowly made a reach for his weapons: _Ruyi Bang_ and _Jingu Bang_.

"No need to be alarmed, I mean you no harm," the man spoke in a strange accent, as he raised his hand a little to calm the boy down.

"Says the guy that's been stalking us for the past two days. Wait... you're that guy from the docks, aren't you?!" Sun realized, that meant-

"Yes, I'm one of Blake's teammates, and I am concerned for her safety, as well as the rest of her friends. I just need to speak with her."

The Faunus only raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he still kept his hands close to his weapons, "Riiiiight."

The young man only sighed as he placed a hand over his face, then held the same hand out to the blonde-haired boy, "Alright, let's start with gaining some trust. I'm Shay Cormac."

Sun hesitated for a second before slowly shaking the man's hand, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Sun. Sun Wukong."

The man straightened up his posture and looked around, "Pleasure to meet you, Sun. Now, how about we get to know about each other a little bit better, walk for a little and indulge in a bit of conversation, for example, as well as discuss the well-being of our mutual friend, Blake."

He paused for a second before nodding slowly, "Okay, where should we start?"

"For starters, we'll need to get something for Blake when you return. Perhaps she'll be hungry when we get there."

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

It was finally nightfall, Blake continued to watch as workers continued to offload more and more cargo from the ship, watching as each box was slowly lifted and placed on top of one another. The Faunus was lying on her stomach as the workers finally stopped moving the shipping containers.

Seconds later, she heard a set of footsteps behind her.

"Did I miss anything?" she heard Sun asked as he walked over to her with a small bunch of apples in his arms.

"Not really. They've offloaded all the crates from the boat, now they're just sitting there," Blake said, turning back to observe the area once more.

"Cool, I got you some food," he said, holding out an apple for her to take.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, this stuff wasn't stolen," Sun defended.

"Really? I find that hard to believe," Blake raised an eyebrow as she continued to give the Faunus boy a suspicious look.

"Well, I didn't exactly buy it either, some friend of yours actually paid for all of this. He's pretty cool, actually."

"Friend?" Blake gave the boy a confused look before hearing more footprints approach the two.

"Hello Blake," she stiffened in shock as she heard a voice she hoped that she would never have to hear this soon.

They turned to look see Shay, who was standing behind them. Blake began to tense up at the sight, Shay watched as her hands began to press against the floor and her legs began to bend, as though she was ready to run at any moment.

"Don't run, Blake. I'm not here to hurt you," the Templar said, earning an unconvinced look from the cat Faunus.

He sighed, "Listen Blake, your team is worried about you. _I'm_ worried about you. So I'm staying and helping you with your problem, then you are going to speak with your friends once more."

"You don't understand-"

"Yes, I do. I'm not Weiss," Blake flinched at his interruption, watching as Shay then motioned to Sun, "Also, your friend told me."

She looked over her shoulder and glared at Sun, who was now giving her a sheepish grin.

"He bought us apples, I owed him one," he explained, watching as Blake rolled her eyes.

"Besides, Ice Queen and I are going to have a chat when this is over," Shay said.

"Also, why did you think I stole these apples? Weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun asked, earning yet another fierce glare from Blake, "Okay, too soon."

They then closed their eyes on instinct as they heard the roar of a Bullhead's engines. Shay looked up to see that the loud aircraft was making it's descent into the docks. As soon as the vehicle finally landed, the rear door opened up.

From the Bullhead, soldiers in white uniforms, as well as wearing masks to cover their faces, stepped out and began making their way toward the cargo that surrounded the aircraft.

"Oh no," she whispered.

"Is that them? The White Fang?" Shay asked before narrowing his eyes and spotting an insignia of some sorts: a painted red wolf head with three claw marks across it.

"Yes, it's them," Blake murmured, watching as some began to shout orders to the others.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.

"No. I think I knew deep down, I just didn't want to be right," she answered.

"Hey! What's the hold up!" Blake and Shay's eyes widened as they recognized that voice immediately, "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace."

" _ **Torchwick**_..." Shay growled, his hidden blades unsheathing on instinct.

Sun decided to scoot away from the angered man.

 _Note to self: don't piss this guy off,_ Sun immediately thought.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that," Blake stood up and unsheathed her sword. Shay got up as well and did the same.

"Hey! What are you two doing!?" Sun shouted at them, they then immediately dropped from the building and landed with a thud.

Shay then looked at Blake as they broke into a sprint, "Since Sun told me what was going on, I'll work with you."

She nodded, "I'll need you to make sure that things stay silent and make sure they don't get away with any of the cargo."

The Templar nodded as he pulled back the drawstring on his Phantom Blade, "I can handle that."

He then felt a hand on his wrist, "Please... don't kill them," Blake whispered.

Shay nodded and loaded a sleeping bolt into the small crossbow. She had a point, if Shay were to kill them, then not only would be a criminal, then he would have to deal with Ozpin, remembering the discussion they had when they first met.

They then broke off and ran in different directions, with Blake moving forward, while Shay turned and ran around to one of the sides. From there, he found a small group of White Fang members filling crates with with Dust crystals before hauling it away to the Bullhead.

Without his air rifle, Shay would have to take a more direct approach; he began to run past several White Fang soldiers who had their backs turned and immediately retreated behind a shipping container as soon as he saw a pair of soldiers walking towards him, though they almost spotted him at the last second.

"What was that?" he heard one of them ask.

"Huh?"

"I thought I saw something," one of the White Fang members said. Shay listened as they continued to walk closer.

"Really? What didya think it was? A ghost?" he asked, as he then turned around the corner to find... nothing.

They then looked up as they heard a loud whoosh above them. Their hands reached for their pistols and prepared to fire, but it was too late, the Templar landed on top one of them, toppling the soldier to the ground and finishing him off with a punch to the head, knocking him out cold.

The remaining White Fang member raised his pistol to fire a shot at Shay, but failed as the Assassin Hunter rushed towards the grunt, grabbing his wrist raising it above his head as soon as a shot was fired. Shay expected the usual loud bang that most guns gave off. Surprisingly, it come out as a sharp and quiet whisper-like noise, not loud enough to attract the attention of any other members.

Shay looked at the man with a small smirk and smashed his head against the other's, sending him crashing onto the ground, emitting a short groan before slumping his head back. The Templar looked down at the gun on the ground that the man had fired, picking it up and inspecting it.

The gun was a dull silver color, a semi-automatic pistol by what Ruby had taught him (identifying different varieties of weapons). The grip's sides was black and grey while the barrel was circular, at the end of the barrel, there was a small, black cylindrical object sticking out of the end.

He gave the weapon one last look before taking out his own dagger and twisting it into it's ballistic form, holding both weapons side by side for a comparison before sheathing both weapons into his belt.

"Another weapon," Shay noted before turning around, only to watch as another White Fang soldier spotted him.

"Hey! What're you-" he was interrupted as a small bolt was silently fired into his neck. His eyes rolled back as he stumbled over and fell over.

Shay unsheathed his hidden blades as he prepared himself for the attack that would soon come for him. He looked around in confusion to see that no one was running towards him with their weapons drawn.

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" he heard from afar. That was the voice of Blake.

Sheathing his blades, he quickly bolted towards the sound of her voice. Within seconds after running through a maze of shipping containers, he spotted White Fang soldiers surrounding Blake, her sword's blade pressed against the throat of Roman Torchwick.

"Heh, oh kid. Didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded.

Shay unsheathed his sword from his belt and was about to eliminate the soldiers that had surrounded her.

"The White Fang and I are going on a joint business venture together," Torchwick explained.

"Hold it," the Templar heard a voice behind him say, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed roughly against the back of his head.

"Drop your weapon, you're surrounded," the voice commanded.

Reluctantly, Shay was forced to drop his sword onto the ground, listening as it clattered the ground and was then kicked away.

" _All_ your weapons," the soldier demanded, watching as Shay then removed both his dagger and his new pistol.

"Good, now move forward," he ordered.

Shay began walking out of hiding, catching sight of Roman Torchwick.

"Oh, you brought friends with you too? Nice job, kiddo, that'll make this even more fun," the criminal said to the grunt behind Shay as he grinned evilly.

Shay had both of his arms restrained by two grunts beside him, his arms held outstretched so they couldn't be moved.

"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation," Blake growled, she then closed her eyes as the sound of more Bullhead ships began to roared into their ears.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a _little_ operation!" Torchwick yelled over the sounds of the ships.

The Templar looked at both of the grunts beside him, then looked at Blake with an apologetic look.

"Blake, I hope you forgive me," Shay said as Blake looked at him with a confused expression before coming to find out what he was going to do, she nodded grimly in realization.

Shay watched as Torchwick grinned, his cane then tilted back and fired an explosive at the girl's feet, sending Blake flying away from the criminal.

At that exact moment, the Templar unsheathed his hidden blades, piercing the throats of the White Fang members beside him, watching as they immediately let go of him and clutched at their own bleeding necks before they fell over, their choked breathing then ceased to a halt.

Shay removed a smoke bomb from his belt and tossed it at his feet before the others had time to point their weapons at him. He ran to where his weapons were supposed to be, but to his shock, they were missing.

"What the-"

"Freeze!" a White Fang soldier shouted at him, "Gotcha now, human."

Before the grunt could fired his gun, Shay watched as someone appeared behind the man and swung some sort of stick into his head, sending him into the ground. Shay looked at the person who saved him; he was young, his black hair was flat, but looked as though it was trying to stand back up, his eyes were ice-blue, but they looked... dead, as if the eyes were never really looking at anything. On his head was a pair of what appeared to be bat ears, a Faunus.

A Faunus fighting against the White Fang, it seemed.

He wore a black duster coat with small leather plates on various parts of his body as well as dark brown pants and boots.

As soon as Shay caught sight of the young man, he merely smirked and reached over his shoulder and pulled out a sword, a dagger, and a gun: Shay's weapons.

"The Father of Understanding guides us!" he shouted, earning a look of shock from the man as he set Shay's weapons on the ground and took a step back.

"Wha-!"

The boy pulled out a book and handed it to Shay, who unconsciously received it with the same look of shock. He looked down to see that it was leather red and black colored book, it looked just like...

Shay's hand immediately reached for the pocket that should've contained his journal, only to find it missing from it's original location. He looked up at his apparent savior with a look of rage.

The books that contained every written detail of Shay's life as a member of the Templar Order, an order that did not exist on Remnant.

"You bastard!" Shay said as he unsheathed one of hidden blades and prepared to charge at the young man before him, only to stop as he spoke again.

"Stop! I know I intruded on something personal of yours, but we can talk about this _after_ we deal with our dilemma with the White Fang. Deal?" he asked, earning a reluctant look from Shay before nodding hesitantly.

"Alright, but you will tell me all you know when we are finished," he growled.

The boy smiled eagerly, spinning his own weapon in his hand, which was a red and white baton,"Good. Now, where were we?"

Shay picked up his gun and sheathed it into his belt, picking up his sword and dagger and holding it up in an offensive form.

"We were going to stop these louts," the Templar said as he ran from the shipping containers and into the fight.

"I'm Kane, by the way," the Faunus boy introduced as they continued running.

"Shay Cormac," he responded.

They watched as Torchwick continually fired explosive projectiles from his cane at Blake, who managed to dodge each fiery blast before retreating towards the shipping containers. He turned and spotted the two running towards him.

"Enough games, kids," he growled as he pointed his cane at the two, only to stop as a banana peel hit him in the face, he looked up to see someone fall and land on his chest, causing him to crash to the floor as this someone then spun and flipped away from him.

"Sun," Shay said as he caught up with the Faunus, who only looked back at him.

"Shay... who's the new guy?" he looked at the other Faunus that was catching up with the Templar.

"No one of your concern," Kane answered.

"Okay, okay, no need to get all hostile on me," Sun raised his hands up slightly in protest.

The trio looked up to see a Bullhead hovering over them, the side of the craft opened up to reveal several members of the White Fang who had jumped out and landed behind Torchwick, who had finally gotten up.

Shay turned to see that more and more soldiers began to drop out of the Bullhead, surrounding them. He reached under his coat to pull out a smoke bomb, but he then realized he had finally run out. Having to handle this in a more direct manner, the Templar brought up his sword and dagger in a fighting stance.

"You guys are not the brightest bananas in the bunch, now are ya?" Roman sneered, the Faunus soldiers began to charge towards them with their weapons raised above their heads, eager to get rid of the intruders.

Shay raised his sword to block an incoming strike before switching his dagger into it's gun form, aiming it at the center of the soldier before firing off a shot, causing the man to fly back and land on another White Fang member. He ducked under another slash in front of him and blocked a strike from behind; he punched the man in front of him in the face and grabbed him by the shoulders, he pushed him into Kane, who was laying a beatdown on an unfortunate member. As soon as the bat Faunus heard the man stumbling towards him, he spun around with his leg outstretched, making contact with the soldier's jaw.

Kane nodded at the Templar, who nodded back. The bat Faunus raised an arm to block an oncoming punch, listening as each individual strike was made towards him. With one uppercut, the man's head flew upwards. Kane grinned as he pulled the man downwards with his baton just inches over his head. With a twist of a knob on his baton, the stick extended, fiercely slamming the White Fang grunt into the ground as his baton extended into his normal walking stick.

Sun, on the other hand, fought with his fists, feet, and tail as each grunt continued to charge at him, using his Monkey Faunus heritage to quickly move from one opponent to the next with blinding speed. After several members were finished off with his refined martial arts, he finally removed his weapons: twin red nunchaku that quickly formed into a staff. He spun the staff in his hands as he quickly blocked and counterattacked each blow from several members of the White Fang before releasing an yellow shockwave that quickly dissipated as soon as it came.

Blake, from afar, watched as the three young men continued to defend themselves from the grunts that were unfortunate enough to attack them. Sun blocked a strike from one of the men's sword, responding with a kick to the face before jumping up in the air and landing on the man's back, kicking him into Torchwick, who then ducked as the White Fang soldier flew past him. Torchwick growled and raised his cane to fire off another explosive at Sun, who deflected it with his spinning staff.

"He's mine!" Blake yelled as she leaped into action, slashing at Torchwick with her blades.

Surprisingly, the criminal was able to keep up with the girl. Managing to block each incoming strike, even laughing as each attack was blocked. In a matter of seconds, Torchwick gained the upper hand and knocked the girl away, giving Sun the opportunity to lunge after the man, using his gun-chuks and it's transformed staff form to lay a brutal display of attacks at the red-haired criminal, only to easily deflect each blow before both Blake leaped at the man again, catching him off-guard and sending him flying with a hard strike to the torso.

With all the White Fang grunts already taken care of, Shay watched as Torchwick got back up and looked up, raising his cane to fire at a container hanging from a chain that was also hanging from a crane, forcing the two to roll out of the way in different directions to avoid the large falling object.

When Sun came to, he turned to see Torchwick with his cane pointed straight at him, a fierce scowl was written on the man's face as he was about to fire the weapon at point blank range and end the monkey-tailed Faunus' life. Shay raised his Phantom Blade and took aim as well, for the man's hand.

"Hey!" everyone heard a shrill, high-pitched voice, causing them to turn and look in the direction of the voice.

It was Ruby, standing atop the roof of a building with _Cresent Rose_ unsheathed, with Penny behind her.

"Oh hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime!"

"Ruby! Run and get help!" Shay shouted at the girl and fired his a bolt at Torchwick, but he caught sight of the quickly moving projectile and lifted his hand to dodge the bolt.

"I'll get to you later, Red and Black. I haven't forgot about you either," he said, pointing the cane and firing it at the Templar.

Shay noticed the fiery explosive and tried to roll out of the way, but it was too late. The explosive ammunition exploded at his feet ant tossed him backwards. He could do nothing but watch as Torchwick then turned and fired again at Ruby, making direct contact with the girl as well, throwing her backwards as she screamed in a mixture of pain and panic.

Torchwick laughed maniacally and turned to look back at the three who were managing to get away, but he stopped to see... another peculiar sight, Shay turned as well to see what had the criminal so concerned as well.

It was Penny, she had leaped from the building, covering a large distance of air before landing in the center of the docks. The strangest part was the large number of blades that were hovering closely behind her, they attacked and fended off any White Fang member that seemed to get close, as though Penny was using them without even touching them, which was most likely the case.

"Woah! Shay, come on, let's get out of here!" Sun yelled to the Templar, who turned to face the Monkey Faunus before looking up to see more Bullheads making their way for the docks, this time firing built-in gatling guns to try and stop Penny, who was now using her spinning and levitating blades to block any oncoming bullets.

"Alright, Kane, where ar-... Kane!?" Shay looked around to find the bat Faunus, but he had disappeared as well. Taking Sun's advice to heart, he bolted out of the way of any stray Bullhead fire and hid behind one of the shipping containers with Sun and Blake, who had quickly caught up with the two, sporting her own quickly-healing injuries.

They looked over from the container to watch the ensuing fight between Penny and the Bullheads.

"Geez, this girl is something else!" Sun exclaimed as she fired two more swords out of her back and leaped towards the building where said swords were embedded in.

At that moment, something happened that was so outrageous occurred, it forced the Templar to drop his own sword and stare with his mouth open, falling to his knees in utter shock.

The blades in front of Penny began to spin faster and faster, creating a field of green energy before she leaned forward and fired the energy in a concentrated burst of light, slicing two Bullheads perfectly in half, which then crashed into the water, creating a huge splash as they then exploded underneath the water.

Penny then turned and embedded her swords into the Bullhead now in front of her, walking back as though there were some invisible wires that was helping her pull back the machine as it tried to fly off with a container filled with Dust before tossing it to the side, watching as it crashed into a large number of containers and exploded on contact.

"You okay there, buddy?" Sun asked the man.

 _How is she doing that!?_ Ruby and Shay unknowingly thought at the exact same time.

Shay got up and nodded at Sun, then turning to see Torchwick, who only scowled at her and turned to run into the second Bullhead ship, watching as he got inside with one final look before it lifted off the ground and flew away with a another ship following closely behind.

The Templar now looked at the scene that unfolded before him: the docks were in a blaze as Penny, who was standing oh-so innocently in the center of the docks, had utterly decimated the rest of the White Fang's operations.

He had dealt with the Assassins in a previous life, he had fought Grimm, but he was not on par with a girl who had just destroyed the entire dock before him.

What he meant to say was, 'this is something...new!'.

But it came out as, "What. The actual. Fuck?"

"Yeah, I hear ya buddy, come on, let's go," Sun shook the man's shoulder as they left the docks with Blake following closely behind.

Shay gulped unconsciously, recollected his thoughts, as well as the rest of his weapons, and quickly followed after them.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all the for which we stand-**

The five sat and rest on top of some crates that they found, sitting in silence as the police quickly came and started an investigation.

Too bad they were already late, they only things they managed to find out were the culprits: the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, but even they couldn't piece together the reason why he would work with such an organization, an terrorist group made for the destruction of human lives.

Shay and the others quickly heard a pair of footsteps bound towards them, he looked up to see that it was Weiss and Yang.

Ruby got up from the crate and tried to explain to the Heiress, "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing, you see she doesn't actually wear a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute.

The Templar watched as Weiss walked up to the Faunus, he tried to make sense of Weiss' expression as it had mixed expressions. He couldn't help but give the girl a slight glare, watching as she frowned at the man with an apologetic look before looking back at Blake.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with-"

"Stop-"

"Of course," Shay muttered under his breath.

"-Do you know how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this, and in that twelve hours, I decided..."

The Templar braced himself for her decision, as well as the others around the two.

"I don't care!" Weiss exclaimed.

 _Wait... what?_ Shay thought in surprise.

"You don't care?" Blake asked.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Upupupupup! I don't wanna hear it! All I want to know is that next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some... someone else," Weiss said as she turned to face Sun, who then looked up at her.

Shay watched as Blake shed a slight tear and wiped it away, "Of course."

Ruby looked at the two before raising her hands to the air in happiness, "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"

Weiss then pointed an accusing finger at the Faunus, "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!"

 _Perhaps I can skip that harsh discussion I was going to have have with Ice Queen,_ Shay thought, but he would soon regret it.

Sun chuckled nervously, as well as the Templar, before feeling a pair of small hands clasp around the collar of his overcoat.

"And you! We are going to have a talk when we get back to Beacon, got it mister?!" Weiss hissed.

 _Nevermind..._ Shay sighed.

"Hey, wait a minute, where's Penny?"

"I... don't know. Come on, let's go," Blake suggested as Ruby looked up thoughtfully before nodding eagerly.

"Okay!" she said.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Yang responded.

Shay nodded before walking with them, turning to Sun.

"I'll see ya later man, I gotta go," Sun said, earning a nod from Shay as the Faunus turned and ran off.

As soon as Shay took a step, he noticed something fall out of his pocket, he picked it up and looked at it.

 ** _"When you need us, come find us here. -Your friend, Kane."_** the card read with a random address on it. Shay rolled his eyes in annoyance as he sheathed the card back in his pocket.

Another mystery that had to be solved sooner or later.

And so they departed back to the docks in silence, boarding a midnight airship and heading back to Beacon Academy.

 **-Nothing is true, Everything is permitted-**

 **Beacon Academy  
1:32 AM  
Day 5, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Shay sat at the edge of the rooftop, doing his best not to fall asleep once more.

Weiss had requested that they meet up here once more, and so he had to oblige with her command.

For some peculiar reason, when anyone wanted to talk to him, or somebody else for that matter, they meet up here. This place wasn't exactly secret, Team CRDL slept below this rooftop, as well as anyone wanting to barge in and give some unsuspecting couple a bit of a scare. So why was this rooftop so special?

"Hey Shay," he heard a voice behind him say, he turned to see Weiss standing behind him.

"Hello Weiss, if you're going to smack me for calling you a brat, by all means do so," he said with a bored expression, watching as the girl blushed slightly.

"No, no, it's not that it's... how do I put this?" she paused for a second.

"You were right, you were right, I was acting like a brat. I spoke aloud irresponsibly against the White Fang, giving Blake the impression that I was speaking about the Faunus in general. A-and... I guess I went a little too far with the rant, right?"

"Correct," Shay hummed to himself, watching as the Heiress sat herself beside him.

She sighed and chuckled sadly, "I guess this would count as some sort of lesson I should learn."

He nodded before bringing his feet back and standing back up.

"I guess so."

"Well, in this case... do you think you can forgive me?" Weiss asked, her bright blue eyes looking hopefully at Shay.

He shook his head, "That's not for me to decide, Weiss. It was Blake you unknowingly insulted."

She slumped her shoulders and lowered her head in guilt. She then froze solid as she felt a pair of hands grasped lightly at her shoulders. The Ice Queen then blushed furiously as she felt a peck atop the center of her forehead. Her eyes widened in realization as Shay brought his head back.

He kissed her.

 _Shay Patrick Cormac kissed **Weiss Schnee**. _

"But if it makes you feel any better in some way, yes, I forgive you," he smiled warmly as he turned and walked away.

Weiss raised her hand to her forehead. She could still feel the sensation from the kiss.

"Besides, I was just the first person to take action," Shay reminded her, listening as she then walked towards him.

"That reminds me-" he heard Weiss say to him, he turned to ask what she was talking about.

 ***Smack!***

"OW!" Shay yelled as he clutched the side of his face with his hand.

"-That's for leaving! You had us scared just as much as Blake!" she screamed at him.

"All right... I guess I deserved that one," he rubbed at the red hand print that was forming on his face.

"You got that right," she smirked as they turned to walk back to the dorms, only to face a widely grinning Yang Xiao Long.

Weiss jumped back in fright, yelping somewhat loudly as Yang chuckled.

"Evening, Yang," Shay said, nodding at her, but she ignored it.

"What are you doing so late at night, Yang?!" Weiss demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing, Ice Queen," she looked at the two of them.

"So... you guys made out yet?" Yang grinned mischievously.

Shay looked to Weiss, Weiss looked to Shay.

"Can I kill her?" Weiss asked.

"You can hurt her, kill her later," Shay grinned back, earning a fearful look from Yang.

"Hmm, that actually sounds more fun," the Heiress smirked.

"Um... guys, you can stop now. Seriously, look, I'm walking back to the dorms, slowly... slowly... oh God, AH!" Yang screamed as the two then chased after her.

"You're going to pay for that bed incident!" Weiss screamed back at her.

 **-Never share our secrets, nor divulge the true nature of out work-**

 **Unknown Warehouse  
Unknown Time  
Unknown Date**

Roman walked back into the warehouse, holding a briefcase in his hand.

He sighed in relief as he set it on the table.

"How very disappointing, Roman," he heard a voice behind him say.

"Woah!" Roman chuckled nervously as he saw the owner walk towards him, "Wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon."

"We were expecting... more from you," she said, her clear and innocent sounding voice hinted in malice.

"Hey, you were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang," he defended, listening as the woman snickered malevolently.

"And you'll continue to do so," she commanded, a ball of fire appeared in her hand.

"We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is a little cooperation," Cinder said, three other people appeared from behind her.

Roman raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, then to the two next to her, then to the one hiding in the back.

"Alright, but I gotta ask one question. I know who you are and who you are, but who the heck is that?" he asked, pointing at the third person behind them.

"He's your new partner," she said, watching as the third person stepped out of the shadows.

"You!" Torchwick raised his cane to point it at the man.

It was that same kid from the docks... what was his name? Shay, was it? There was only several differences. He wore all black rather than having the usual red accents on his coat, and his eyes... oh God, his eyes.

The whites of his eyes were yellow, while his irises were a deep glowing orange, enough to rival Cinder's fiery glow.

The young man only chuckled darkly, "I only look like the one who attacked you, Mister Torchwick. I, on the other hand, seek to help you," he said in a posh and clear, yet... grim accent.

Roman lowered his cane, but only slightly.

"Go on."

The man only smirked, "I possess a set of... unusual resources, which can be used to help you, should you ever need them. As well as information regarding some of the people that want to get rid of your little operation."

Torchwick raised an eyebrow, "And that is?"

"All in good time, my friend, let's start with introductions," he held out his hand, which was then taken by the red-haired criminal.

"Name's Roman Torchwick," Roman nodded at the man, who only smirked.

"Ah yes, names, how quaint... my name is... Baphomet. But others call me the Father of Understanding."

"I'll just stick to calling you Baph," he gave the dark-haired man a strange look.

"If you wish, my friend. This looks like the start of a... beautiful friendship, it seems," he grinned wider, sending a small eerie shiver down the criminal's spine.

"Yeah... it does," Roman said, hiding the small bit of terror in his voice.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Longest. Chapter. Ever! Over 10,000 words, Jaysus!**

 **Now you guys know what happened to the Beowolf.**

 **Alright, sorry for being a little late, but I hope this chapter makes up for it.** **Hope you guys like it!**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter, stay beautiful, ladies and gents, and I'll see you all later.**


	13. Chapter 13: Re-Semblance

**Q &A:**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: You'll see... **

**Also, up until the first day of Beacon, he looks like Assassin-Shay during the first part of the game (while wearing his Templar outfit), but he then shaved and redid his look so it resembled his appearance when he became a Templar, though a bit younger. But he, on some occasions, will let down his hair so it looks like a cross between the two.**

 **welcometodalolz: Well... not exactly a god. He goes by the name Baphomet AND looks like an evil version of our favorite Templar for good reason, which will be explained later in the story. **

**geoffrey hogue: Thank you very much, my good friend. **

**BrutusSilentium: Yup, thanks. **

**Jigoku no Yami: Nice observation, we'll see. **

**jhellou: I have some ideas in store...**

 **MrNoobishDude: M'kay. **

**Guest: Good question, but I also have to wonder how far this'll go first, and then wonder what Winter will think of him as well.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: These few chapters will be over what happens between Volume One and Two, expect more humor than usual and a bit of fluff here and there, but not too much, this _IS_ a story involving Assassin's Creed, after all. Also, some of the chapters will contain events that are essential to the continuing story. **

**Case in point, this chapter: Shay's Semblance.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
** **11:05 PM  
** **Day 8, Thursday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"Lift upwards! Block! Parry on your right!" Shay barked more commands towards Jaune, who was currently sparring with Pyrrha. The boy continued to poorly keep up with the Spartaness who proceeded to strike at him with her own blade.

Another night of training. Another night atop the infamous rooftops of the Beacon Academy dorms. With Shay's own personal training with his teammates of RWBY, Pyrrha decided to create a more coordinated schedule; training with Jaune and her every other night while Shay decided to cut the girls some slack every time he left to help train Jaune alongside Pyrrha.

By the Templar's request (and command), Jaune had to get rid of that ridiculous blue onesie, including the rabbit slippers, during their nights of training. Instead, Jaune now wore a simple short-sleeved white shirt and a pair of black shorts, a belt looped around his waist so he could still carry _Crocea Mors_ and it's sheath-shield.

"Block down with your shield!" he continued to command, watching as Jaune did as he commanded, blocking another powerful strike from Pyrrha, yet making the young man stumble back slightly before resuming the battle.

The Templar was still new in tutoring another person in the art of combat. So in all honesty, Jaune's experience in combat was just a strong as Shay's teaching ability as a mentor and as a Templar.

Shay stood near the door, leaning himself on the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes watching the scene like a hawk observing it's prey just before it was going to strike. The Templar would rarely interfere directly with the fight, usually stopping Jaune's sparring to correct any mistakes that the Pyrrha forgot to point out, though that was usually rare. It would only be a matter of time before Shay decided to get himself involved directly in their fights.

Although Jaune was a poor fighter in comparison to all the other students in the Academy, he would fare rather well in his world... if they were in the old Medieval Ages. But no, Shay, and this world, despite the extraordinarily large gap in technology, existed in a world of fire and steel, no longer of stone and iron.

The blonde-haired boy stood in front of Pyrrha, while Shay continued his observation. His knees bent and his body low in anticipation, just as they had taught him. His shield was held closely to protect the important majority of his body, but not too close so it would not limit his mobility. The sword in his right hand was clutched tightly and turned to the side, perpendicular to his current stance. Sweat dripped down the boy's head as the fight continued. Aura could defend against injury and heal most wounds, but did little to cure fatigue.

With one final pant, he quickly sprinted towards the red-haired gladiator once more, his sword arm raised high above his head. Jaune slammed the blade down onto the girl, watching as it was easily blocked by her blade. Remembering what Shay had taught him, despite the man not bearing a shield of his own, he used his own shield and attempted to knock over Pyrrha with a simple, yet commonly effective rush. Pyrrha saw this coming and immediately sidestepped while parrying her own blade against her leader's, causing Jaune, combined with his change in speed and the momentum suddenly created by the Invincible Girl, to spin and fall forward onto his face with a dull, yet cringe-worthy thud.

But with _enough_ training on both their parts, Jaune would make a powerful and excellent warrior in combat. But they still had a long way to go.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha apologized as she walked over to the boy and helped him to his feet, the boy then shook his head to remove any dust that ended up on his hair and face.

"Ugh... it's okay, Pyrrha," Jaune groaned in pain as he held his hand to his forehead, "Am I doing any better, Shay?"

The Templar looked up at the sound of the boy's voice. Shay pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the two of them. Jaune was completely exhausted from the match between he and his teammate. Pyrrha, on the other hand, had barely broken a sweat, other than a single bead of sweat that trailed down the side of her head after Jaune had managed a single lucky strike from earlier.

"Aye, Jaune, but barely. You're attacks are still uncoordinated and you rush too quickly into your fights. While you attempt to use your shield to stumble your opponent, it is barely being put to use as a defensive tool," the boy's shoulders slumped over slightly and lowered his head, ashamed from the results that Shay had unfortunately provided. Pyrrha frowned sadly in response as well.

Shay walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, "But you are still making progress, nonetheless. Despite your slow attempts, you are reacting more quickly to each attack that Pyrrha inflicts. Do you know what that means?"

"I think... no. What is it?"

"You're learning, Jaune. That's what's happening. For each attack, you are able to predict your opponent's move and act according to each attack," Shay explained, "Besides, any progress is better than none at all."

Jaune looked up at the man with a small smile, "All right, thanks Shay."

The Templar nodded and looked back at the door, "That's enough training for tonight. Now get going, you two."

Pyrrha turned to them with a look of satisfaction as she sheathed her sword and shield.

"Let's get going, Jaune, before Nora decides to eat _our_ dinner again," Pyrrha suggested as they looked at each other at the thought of the orange-haired girl letting them starve because of her assumed sugar-crazed addiction.

"Good idea," Jaune nodded as they began to walk quickly to their dorm, leaving Shay to walk back to his own dorm.

Jaune was, in fact, lucky to have Shay as one of his mentors. Better he than any other more... strict teachers. Haytham's fierce dedication to the Order led to some... difficult times when Shay was a more lower-ranked member. But even Haytham was still a blessing compared to... ugh... Captain Louis-Joseph Gauthier, Chevalier de La Verendrye.

Oh yes, he still remembered that name. That stubborn, hard-nosed Frenchman of the Assassin Brotherhood that rivaled, maybe even bested, Haytham in terms of dedication to their respective orders.

Shay even remembered that fistfight that occurred earlier in his life, back when he was an Assassin. What was it that he had said?

 _"-And you are dreaming if you think any training could make you into a proper Assassin. Do you know what that means? It means being responsible for an ancient and proud tradition. It means obeying your mentors without question. How else will ensure freedom for the human race?!"_ the man had once demanded from him.

 _"Them's pretty words, Chevalier, but I don't feel too free at the moment,"_ Shay had answered, back when he was younger, er, older...

It was at this point when the Templar realized that his life was pretty screwed up the moment he had entered Remnant, with his newly gifted youth. The proper terms for recalling his age during the past was now difficult. Yes, he was older in terms of mind, but he had the body of a boy just finishing the last stages of puberty.

 _"Well then, feel educated!"_ the Assassin yelled before throwing a punch at him. Shay brought his hand to his jaw as he continued to sift through his memories, he could still feel the punch even after all those years.

Shay pulled out his Scroll, finally reaching his Dorm, and extended it until it activated. He held the device up to the door and tapped one of the buttons to unlock it. Shay then opened the door as soon as he heard the lock click open.

As usual, he undressed into his sleeping garb and walked over to his teammates, who were already sound asleep in their beds.

He walked over to Ruby's bunk, the girl within the bed was shivering. Shay then pulled the blanket closer over the rest of her body so that she would stop her shivering; which proved successful, she, her teeth stopped chattering and the young girl finally lay still as she continued to sleep. At first, he would've found the concept of a younger girl leading him and a rest of older girls, including her sister, against a species of ravenous monsters that preyed on humanity completely ludicrous; but what had happened to him ever since he had arrived on this world proved that Fate now proved that such ridiculous concepts can, and most likely will, be proven possible and most definitely deadly serious.

Shay then looked down as Weiss, who was laying on her side as she continued to snooze peacefully. The girl was cold, arrogant, irritable, and often over-confident; but from her previous argument with Blake some days ago, he knew that she had a reason to do so. Besides, ever since, she had began to warm up more to the rest of her teammates, and more so to Shay.

The young man knew of her affections towards him. He had known ever since the kiss on the rooftops, but he thinks that it was merely a simple crush and that it would soon pass.

It would pass... right? Well, he _did_ anwer to her response with an equally friendly kiss just four days ago on her forehead.

The Templar then looked away to the other girls: Blake and Yang, each sleeping in their own respective beds as well.

For Yang, she was free-spirited, brash (though that can be overlooked), and carefree, but at the same time, she was extremely protective of her sister. As for Blake, she was now more open with the rest of her team now that they knew, and accepted, her Faunus heritage as well as her former affiliations with the White Fang, even going so far as to remove her bow for when she slept, well, if she knew that no one was going to barge in suddenly and catch sight of the pair of extra ears atop her head. As for what happened at the Docks, yes, she managed to forgive him, seeing that he had no other choice to be rid of the two White Fang soldiers.

Shay shook his head slightly in melancholic amusement from these thoughts. He turned back and climbed into his bed, which was still in the center of the room, and closed his eyes as he pulled the blanket closer to his chest.

The Templar sighed in disappointment, not because of the fact that it was going to be a new day doing schoolwork. In fact, he was rather content with the concept of doing something rather than going out and killing terrorists or monsters, or anything of the like.

No, Shay sighed because he knew that this night would be another night with Pluto. And that another painful blueprint was soon to enter into the man's head.

He didn't bother to even steel himself for what was to come as he then drifted off to sleep.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 _The next day..._

Who knew that one, simple argument could create disaster in such a short time?

It was another normal day in Beacon Academy, though the word 'normal' had a broad meaning in terms of the situation placed before it. For example: lunch.

After a majority of their classes were finished for the day, the students of Beacon Academy hurried off to the cafeteria to finally eat.

The members of Teams RWBY and JNPR sat in various seats that surrounded the table, either discussing current events, conversing over their favorite subjects (or any other subjects, for that matter), or just normally eating their food.

Ruby was in the process of performing a magic trick, and by that, she was managing to make every chocolate-chip cookie on her plate disappear the moment they made contact with the black hole known as her mouth while also conversing with the only girl on Team JNPR that rivaled her love for sweets. Blake was reading from another one of her books from her shelf as usual, her eyes glued intensely on each proceeding word before turning the page and repeating the process over and over again, while also bringing the occasional forkful of food from the tray to her mouth. Yang has yet to be seen, as she left early to take care of some business, while Jaune and Pyrrha conversed normally... well, at least more normally than the rest of the group.

Nora continued to eat her pancakes in almost the same manner of Ruby, while talking with the young leader simultaneously, Ren, on the other hand, continued to eat his lunch normally.

Weiss sat beside Shay, both were eating their lunches in their own personal silence while listening dimly to the conversations around them. She looked up at the young man seated beside her, who continued to eat his meal in a bored manner.

"Hey, Shay?" Shay stopped in mid-bite to look at the source of the voice.

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Are you... okay?" she asked, blushing embarrassingly at her poor attempt to strike up a simple conversation.

"Of course, why do you ask-" he was interrupted as Nora slammed her palms onto the table and raised herself closer to Ruby as they continued to argue over this new subject.

"You're basically declaring that Ren could beat Blake!" Ruby shouted at the orange-haired girl, who laughed triumphantly.

"Ha! So you do admit it!" Nora declared victoriously.

"Huh?" Ren looked up at the two as he heard his name in the conversation.

"No I don't! I'm just stating an example!"

"Which you admitted!"

"Wha- I- guh..." Ruby lowered her head in defeat as she tried to reason with the energetic girl's logic, but stopped before the red-hooded girl could suffer total brain failure.

"What?" Blake lowered her book as she looked at them as well.

Nora then turned to face Ren, "We're wondering if you could win in a fight against a ninja."

"I'm not a ninja," Blake muttered as she looked back down at her book.

"You're the closest thing we have to a ninja besides Ren! Um, no offense."

"None taken," the green-clad boy responded nonchalantly.

"Well, look at the evidence! Blake has a sword inside a sword that is a katana. What do ninjas have? Katanas!"

"Ninja's don't use katanas," the disguised Faunus said.

"That's exactly what a ninja would say... or wouldn't say! This furthers my proof!" Nora pointed upwards as she stood up on her seat.

"What about those ninja stars? Blake doesn't have those," Jaune pointed out before a shuriken suddenly embedded itself just millimetres from his own hand.

"They're called shurikens!" someone yelled out from across the cafeteria.

"Well, sorry for not knowing that!" Jaune sarcastically responded to the unknown student.

"Who was that?" Ruby asked as she turned to face the person who had thrown the sharp projectile.

"I dunno," Jaune answered as he continued to talk with Pyrrha.

"Also-" Ruby then looked back at Nora, "-Ninjas don't have guns."

"You guys are still talking about this?" Ren asked.

"It's not over 'til there's a winner!" Ruby and Nora yelled simultaneously.

"Speaking of fights..." Shay then heard a new voice behind him, he turned to see Yang towering above the man as he was still sitting in his seat, he almost didn't notice Weiss also scoot just an inch away from Shay, in case Yang had any... suggestive jokes that she wanted to use in the event that she sees Weiss close to the man beside her.

"Yaaaaa-!" Ruby yelled happily before being pulled into a bone-crushing hug, "- _aaaaaang...ow._ "

"You still owe me a fight," the blonde-haired girl said as she let go of the girl, her lilac eyes flashed mischievously at Shay.

"Since when?" Shay raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Initiation Day, nighttime," she only said, waiting for him to remember the memory.

In just a couple seconds, Shay soon figured out what she was talking about.

The night after the Initiation, when he had returned to his Dorm after the others, Yang nearly forced him to completely strip down to his undergarments before they engaged in a fistfight which was then interrupted only a minute later, leaving no clear winner.

 _"Fine, you can keep the pants. But we're not finished yet,"_ she had said.

"You know what that means," Yang's smile grew wider after the young man nodded, the girl cracked her knuckles in response.

"Sparring match, you and me, after lunch. I even set it up with Goodwitch while I was at it."

"You're still holding onto that, even after all this time?"

"Yup, so are you going or not?"

"Of course, Yang. That would be... delightful," Shay said with a painfully feigned smile.

"Good, 'cuz you better get ready for round two," she winked at him before turning around and walking away.

As soon as Yang left his line of sight, the Templar sighed in irritation and slumped his head onto the table.

Of course he had to put up more of this nonsense. At this point, he wondered when he would stop caring, but the man now knew that this was going to take a long time...

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

Shay finally made his way to the amphitheater, all of the Templar's weapons on hand but would be used nonlethally for the upcoming fight, but nonlethal did not account for Yang herself, despite her own restrictions. From all the confessions of other unfortunate fighters that went up against Yang, she was guaranteed a force to be reckoned with.

He continued walking through the halls, just a few metres closer to the stage. On both sides stood the members of both teams, obviously excluding the blonde fist fighter.

"Do your best, you two!" Ruby cheered as the man continued to walk by her with an affirmative nod.

"Especially you, Shay," Weiss said with a serious expression on her face.

"Thank you," he told the two of them.

"This'll be good," Blake commented, actually setting down her book to watch the fight, a small amused grin about her expression.

"Hey Shay, what're your favorite flowers?" Nora appeared in front of Shay, making him flinch in surprise.

"What? I don't understan-"

"Just answer it!"

"I-um... roses... I think," the man shrugged indifferently.

"Okay, thank you!" she then zoomed off with her Scroll and came back in matter of seconds.

"What was that?" Shay asked the girl suspiciously.

"For the funeral," Nora casually answered, shrugging her shoulders.

The Templar gave her a confused look, "What funeral?"

She then pointed at him, cracked her knuckles, then pointed at the room where Yang was, who was most likely still waiting for the man to get to the stage.

"Nora!" Ren yelled at her.

"What? We have to consider the fact that our boy, Shay, might not come out of this fight alive."

"I'll be fine, Miss Valkyrie" he reassured.

"Okay, but I just hope you had a good long life and that you aspired for your hopes and dreams, that you lived out your fantasies, and that you-"

"Nora..."

"Coming, Ren!" she yelled, skipping towards her partner.

Shay merely shook his head and walked through the entrance with the others behind him to see Yang on one side of the large circular pit that made up almost the entirety of the Amphitheater, on the stage just a few feet from the arena stood Professor Goodwitch, who watched as the man slowly made his way to the opposite side of Yang.

Within a few seconds, Shay stood across from Yang, his sword and dagger unsheathed, holding them tightly in both hands. The blonde-haired girl then activated her weapons: the infamous _Ember Celica._

The Templar silently gulped in fear, but he swallowed past it and looked back at the girl, who was sporting a wicked grin on her face.

"All right, are both fighters ready?"

"Yup," Yang said.

"Aye," Shay muttered.

"Good. If I may interrupt, Mister Cormac, do you believe it is wise to fight against an experienced opponent such as Miss Xiao Long? You are allowed to back out of the fight if you may so please," the Professor advised.

"She's basically saying that you can chicken out if you want to."

"Miss Xiao Long..." Goodwitch held back a growl, instead taking the form of an authoritative mutter.

"No, Professor. We've made our choice in the matter, and I intend to honor it. No matter my well-being," Shay said, popping the bones in his neck as he steeled himself for what was to come from this fight.

"...If you insist. Just... good luck."

"You're gonna need it," Yang winked at him mischievously.

"I make my own luck," Shay said as the fight was about to begin.

"In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... begin."

Shay had barely enough time to react as Yang quickly sprinted towards him, he ducked under an oncoming fist that was meant for the man's jaw. He turned to see another heading straight for him, lifting his sword to parry the blow without a moment's notice, he had to grit his teeth as he felt the full force of her gauntlets, sending him sliding back slightly before running back towards her. He slashed in a horizontal arc at the girl, causing her to jump back several feet to avoid the blow.

Yang grinned evilly as she ran at him again as he let his guard down, sending a fist careening into his abdomen, lifting him a few inches into the air and causing him to double over, she sent another shotgun-empowered fist into his back, causing him to fall to the ground with a quiet groan before letting loose another fist towards his face. Her fist only made contact with metal, she then looked up to see a boot that had now made direct contact with her face, causing her to stumble backwards before recovering.

The small crowd that was made up by the remainder of the two teams gave off several looks of surprise.

"As I had said before,-" Shay dropped his sword and shifted his knife into his other hand, "-I'm not afraid to hit a woman."

"Likewise," Yang grinned as the bruise that was forming on her head disappeared, running back at him once more.

The Templar, quickly coming up with a plan, he removed a throwing knife and threw it at the girl. She easily knocked the spinning blade to the side, but had to cover her face to do it. Shay then caught a blind punch before swinging his other arm into her chest, watching as she then fell onto her back. Shay unslung his air rifle and quickly loaded a grenade into the launcher before pointing it at the girl at point blank range, only to stumble backwards as it was kicked to the side by Yang, watching as it slid to the edge of the arena before stopping.

Shay looked back at the rifle and quickly sprinted to retrieve it, only to fall over as the girl grabbed onto his ankle and pulled him to the ground. He looked up to see that the blonde now climbed on top of him and sent a successful punch into his face, pain flooded his mind as his vision blurred from the impact. Without a second to lose, he blocked a blow from her other arm and grabbed the sides of her head with both hands and slammed it into his, causing her to immediately clutch at her head in pain. He then pushed her off slightly with his hands shoving at her shoulders, giving him the opportunity to pull back his legs, press his feet against her stomach, and push her off completely.

He then rolled to his feet as he then grabbed ahold of his rifle and prepared to take aim, but Yang approached Shay from behind and wrapped her arms tightly around the man's waist.

"You're not getting away this time," she whispered to him, ready to lift him over her head and slam him into the ground, but that did not happen.

Instead, Shay decided to aim the rifle between both of their feet and fired, the explosive projectile flung the two to the opposite sides of the arena, the two slid across the metal floor as they reached the opposing ends.

Shay stood back up clumsily, using his rifle as a makeshift cane to balance him. He turned to look back at the girl, who was holding a furious glare, her eyes turning red with rage and her hair flickering about like flames. He was about to wonder why she was so mad before he looked down at his hand.

And in said hand was a few small strands of golden yellow hair.

It was at this point when Shay (and the rest of the crowd) knew, he fucked up bad.

He fucked up really, _really_ , bad.

"Oh... shite," Shay muttered, looking up at the screen.

His aura level was less than half it's normal level: around thirty percent, while Yang's was in it's fifties.

"You...you **BASTARD!** " she roared in rage as she quickly sprinted towards him, this time a trail of flames followed closely behind. Shay looked to see that all forms of restraint were gone in her eyes.

The Templar shifted his knife into it's ballistic form and fired several shots at her, only to look in fear as she merely shrugged off the blows and quickly closed the gap between the two.

This was going to hurt. Very. _**V**_ ** _ery._** Bad.

Shay dodged the first punch, but not the rest, bracing himself as the remaining number of punches each slammed into various parts of his body, the last punch was then sent into his stomach, sending him sprawling across the floor once more.

"You are going to pay for what you did. _**With your life!**_ " her voice taking a near-demonic tone as she stomped towards the man in fury.

He got up again, stumbling slightly against the wall as he did so, and looked back at his Aura levels: fifteen percent.

One more punch and Shay was done for. He looked back at the girl, her eyes still burning like coals from the fiery pits of Hell.

Shay sighed, he wouldn't last in this state. He might as well take the last punch like a man, with his dignity and life intact

He closed his eyes as Yang reared her fist back to punch the Templar's lights out.

 ***BOOM!***

Shay opened his eyes to see that she had missed, her fist just inches above him, but that wasn't the strangest part.

He turned to look at Yang, her eyes fading back to it's normal violet color, her hair stopped flickering like a bonfire, and a shocked expression was on her face.

"R-R..." she looked back at the stage before looking back at him with a bewildered look, "Shay?!"

He gave her a strange look, then he looked at the rest of the crowd, which was mimicking Yang's expression as well, the only exception was Ruby, who was blushing furiously. Hell, even Goodwitch was surprised by what apparently happened.

"What's the matter?" he coughed, his voice was... lighter?

"Um... how should I put this... uh, look down," she said.

Shay narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "What're you talking abou..."

His voice faltered as he looked down, then his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull in both shock, surprise, and what should've been disbelief if he didn't notice that Yang stood taller than him by several inches now, which was how Yang missed with her punch in the first place.

"What the-!"

"Shay... I think you just discovered your semblance..."

 _Oh no_ , he thought.

 **-Uphold the principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

In another part of the Academy, sat an employee.

This employee's job was point out any irregularities when students went through Initiation, and to report said irregularities to the Headmaster. He would often silently groan and complain about his job, that it was often described as a mind-killer and that it bored him out of his skull. But he reminded himself that it was better than going out and getting himself killed while fighting the Grimm.

He had to admit, the pay was good, but the hours were long. Then again, this was his job. Just to sit around in front of a radar and wait for something to come u-

 ***Ping!***

The man looked up from his comic book in surprise and set it down on the table.

"What was th-"

 ***Ping!***

The man flinched back slightly as he looked down at the radar that displayed a topographic map of the Emerald Forest.

"Holy crap," the man mumbled in surprise.

For the last five years of his life, after spending so much time lounging around while on the job, something finally happens.

"Okay, okay. The manual's here somewhere..." the man opened the filing cabinet to pullout a small gray and brown textbook, opening it up to look at the pages.

A blip on a radar had a classification according to how it looked and sounded.

"Okay, blue... mid-sized, pinging slowly while flickering red on occasion. That means... oh my God," the man whispered as he looked through the pages before quickly reaching for his Scroll and typing in the Headmaster's number.

He waited as the Scroll continued to ring, his foot tapping against the floor in anticipation and anxiety.

A click was then heard, "...Yes?"

"Headmaster Ozpin, we have a situation!" he yelled into the Scroll.

"At this time? What is it?" Ozpin asked.

The man looked at his scroll, it was only nine 'o clock at night.

"Well sorry to interrupt, sir. But there's someone in the Emerald Forest with a locked Aura, he or she is currently in critical condition and must be retrieved, sir."

"Noted, I will make sure a team of Huntsman are to retrieve this person immediately, thank you."

"You're welcome, Professor," the man then shut off his Scroll and looked back at the radar, watching as it continued to beep cautiously.

 **-Hide in plain sight-**

 _That night..._

"Aaaaand done!" Yang declared.

"That was, by far, the most humiliating thing you have done to me. Ever," Shay said, crossing his arms over his chest in frustration while giving the girl a fierce glare.

After speaking with the Academy's nurse on the subject of Semblances and it's first use for a Huntsman, when a Semblance manifests itself, it can take either two forms: one in which the user knows how it functions immediately, and the other is when it's summoned sporadically out of the blue, having to learn to control it until it can be properly wielded.

Guess which one Shay was?

On estimate, for the next few days, he was stuck like this.

What was Yang doing to him, you may ask? Changing his clothes. Him! What should be a grown man was being changed by a girl who was almost four times younger than him in mentality.

Shay now wore a normal white shirt with a pair of dark grey sweatpants that were supposed to fit his original self, but somehow shrunk, as though it was to compensate for his Semblance's ability.

Why was she performing such a task? Because the blonde-haired girl didn't want to humiliate Ruby, so she had to... choose the lesser of two evils, to put it lightly.

Ruby and Weiss were shocked, and slightly uncomfortable by the revelation of his Semblance, while Blake was the most unfazed of the group.

"Don't care, now off to bed," she commanded.

"What!" Shay yelled.

"You heard me, and I'll be watching you, in case you try anything funny," she gave him an equally fierce glare, shutting him up immediately.

Shay sighed, "Fine, good night, Yang."

"Night R-Shay! I mean Shay!" Yang smiled sheepishly.

 _Oh, I am going to have so much fun with this!_ Yang cackled in glee within her mind.

"Whatever," Shay muttered, looking back at the full-size mirror on the wall, flinching slightly as he looked at it before calming down.

For the next three days, Shay was going to be surprised and perform routinely double-takes every time he looked in the mirror.

Why? Because every time _he_ tries to look at himself in the mirror, Ruby Rose stared back at him with those large silver eyes.

 _Of all the Semblances that existed, I **had** to be given a shape-shifting Semblance, a shape-shifting Semblance that would I would have to practice with just to control, to make it worse. Just great, just fucking great..._ Shay thought bitterly as he climbed into his bed, which now felt larger than it should have.

It seemed that Fate had a deluded sense of humor, the Templar thought as he fell asleep, not know the misery that would come to him for the next few days.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Finished!**

 **Sorry if I'm late... again, had a couple of other things to take care of, so I immediately got to work as soon as I could, hope you guys can understand.**

 **I felt a little awkward while writing this story, but I thought Shay's Semblance made sense: hiding in plain sight. Rather than blending into the crowd, Shay's Semblance will allow him to completely submerge himself into the crowd.**

 **And why would Shay's first transformation be Ruby? Well, your answer will be in the next chapter.**

 **Also, who is this new mysterious newcomer that has appeared in the Emerald Forest? I'll give you a hint, it's certainly not an OC.**

 **Don't forget to fave, follow, and review. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Until then, stay beautiful, lads and ladies.**


	14. Chapter 14: Doppelgänger

**Q &A: **

**FanficCrossoverMaster15 : Some of his clothes change appearance, but all of them change in size to compensate for Shay's altered size. **

**To put it in better terms: since Shay has taken the form of Ruby, all clothes that fit him in his original form will temporarily shrink to fit his new form, BUT if, hypothetically, Ruby-Shay wore Ruby's clothing, then it would shrink further and not fit because the clothes do not fit him in his normal form. I hope this answers your question.**

 **Reader: Agreed.**

 **THETOUCH : I know what you're thinking... although I am slightly amused, the probability of such an event occurring is unlikely. **

**geoffrey hogue : Poor, poor Shay (cackles evilly). **

**Shadow of Deception : Thank you for that. Also, being awesome, that's what you're doing!**

* * *

 **Author's Notes : I am actually surprised by the positive reviews that I have gotten. Thank you everyone. **

**So now, here's your next dose of RWBY: The Hunter.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy  
1:00 PM  
Day 10, Saturday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Shay's eyes blinked open as he began to slowly wake up. His hand shot to his forehead as he groaned in pain, another memory transfer from Pluto tended to do that.

 _Another damn schematic,_ he thought in annoyance as he continued to look up at the ceiling before turning his head to look around the room.

Every so often, Pluto would transfer these weapon designs and modifications into his subconsciousness. These dreams would only stop until the weapon or modification to a weapon was finished. As much as it would be a blessing to just stop at a schematic so the dreams would stop, the design would gnaw at the back of his mind, growing into some mad obsession until the design was finally brought to life.

He turned his head and looked at the clock beside him, the red, blinking 1:00 PM sign that had woke him up with it's flashing lights as it made a moderate beeping sound every hour that had passed; yet by some coincidence, it woke him up just an hour into the afternoon. Shay growled and slammed his palm on top of the clock, immediately shutting it up.

His teammates had already left, leaving him behind as he had continued to sleep. Wait a minute, wasn't there supposed to be class? ...Oh right, it's Saturday, this was a break. Or, as described by Yang, 'one big off-period' since they could stay or leave the Academy temporarily before returning. So he was safe from the fact that he had overslept.

The Templar sat up on his bed and attempted to rub the dull, stinging drowsiness that circled his eyes before stretching his arms upwards and yawning quietly before dropping his arms onto his stomach. Something caught Shay's eye as he looked down at his arm. His skin was _pale_ , rather than it being tanned like his usual complexion, but he decided to pay no mind to it.

With one swift action, he swung his legs out of bed and continued to move the rest of his body along with them until he stood up. Shay then began stretching the rest of his body, listening as each stiff bone popped back into place before walking over to the chest that sat at the foot of his bed. Shay looked out at the corner of his eye to see that a strand of black-red hair had fallen over slightly and obscured a small portion of his vision; he lazily brushed the small strand of hair away before kneeling down to open the chest, making a mental note to search for his red ribbon whenever he had the chance.

For some strange reason, he felt... lighter, not that it was a bad thing, but it was certainly peculiar.

Inside the chest was his normal Templar clothing: a folded white undershirt, a red buttoned outfit along with his black and red overcoat, which held several straps, one holding the familiar Templar insignia; a belt containing several pouches and a long white strip of fabric also bearing the Templar insignia that looped around his waist under the belt, his black and red gloves with his hidden blade bracers alongside them, as well as a pair of black trousers and black boots.

He unfolded the undershirt and placed it on the bed, then proceeded to replace the shirt that he was currently wearing with the one that had once sat on the mattress.

For a split second, the undershirt felt unusually large before it suddenly felt as though it fit normally. Shay frowned at the observation before shaking his head and continued to change into his trousers and boots, which also felt larger before it suddenly and spontaneously fit.

The Templar raised his hand to his chin in thought, realizing that his hand felt strange as well when it was resting under his chin. Rather than his hands usually feeling rough, they felt... soft, but slightly callous to some extent.

 _What is going on?_ he thought to himself. Shay frowned again before slowly putting on the red and black outfit as well as his gloves and hidden blades, his confusion grew as even the bracers that held his hidden blades shrank with him.

At this point, he would just blame Yang and be done with it if something almost as confusing as this were to occur, but it none of the Blonde girl's pranks were a perplexing as the issue that he was currently facing. He looked down at his wrists and flicked them back, watching as both blades sprang to life.

At least that works.

Shay sheathed his blades and looked back towards the bathroom door, walking over to it, he opened the door and flicked on the light switch, still slightly awed by the fact that the room was instantly filled with light that did not require fire of any sorts. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror before turning on the water on the sink. The Templar removed his gloves and set them aside before cupping his hands under the running water and began lightly splashing it on his face. Perhaps cold water could wake him up further and deal with this pr-

 ** _Wait a minute!_**

It took the man several seconds to realize the signs of what had happened before shutting off the water. He looked back up at the corner of his eye to see a faint outline of black hair with traces of red along the tips. Last time he checked, his hair was dark brown, not black, and it _certainly_ did not contain any traces of red along it, the only person who had such an appearance was...

Shay began to recount the recent events that had just happened minutes ago: paler skin, feeling lighter, and now black and red hair. He slowly began to realize the situation that he was in, terror gnawed at the edges of his mind as he pieced together what had happened to him. Praying that he was wrong, he used all the willpower he had to slowly lift his head and take another look at the mirror again.

A pair of bright, silver eyes stared back at him; these eyes still bore an expression of innocence and curiosity, but also contained fear. His fear. Black hair traced with red hung loosely around his head while also obscuring a small, faint portion of his face, specifically the middle of his face, between his (her?) eyes.

"It wasn't a nightmare..." Shay said to himself as his hand flew to his neck, coughing lightly as he tried to adjust to his new voice.

The Templar then focused his attention to the rest of his form. What he was looking at was a shocked Ruby Rose bearing the outfit, _his_ outfit, of the Templar Order. His (her?) face turned bright red as he realized an embarrassing little reminder within his mind: he had changed clothes in this form without even realizing it the first time, but now that he knew, it was rather humiliating.

His mind reeled wildly as he tried to process the amount of thoughts that were whirling about within his mind. Coming to a final realization, he couldn't decide whether to scream loudly in surprise, try to speak but receive only incomprehensible sputters as he tries to talk, or slam his head onto sink in embarrassment from his earlier actions.

With a sigh, and his mind finally slowing down to a calm, his decision on his reaction came down to one conclusion. And he acted on that decision.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

Teams RWBY and JNPR sat in various seats near their table as they continued to eat their lunch; Team JNPR was able to hold their own conversations with one another, while Team RWBY sat in silence as they ate their food at a slower pace. Despite the loud chattering between several students, the silence between the young redhead's team was rather obvious.

Jaune decided to break the silence.

"So... how are you guys?" he asked in a somewhat awkward tone.

"We're fine," the other team responded simultaneously.

"How is your morning so far?"

"Good," Blake responded, focusing more on her breakfast more than the book that sat beside her, much to the others' mild surprise.

"And... Shay? Is he still-"

"Yup," Ruby confirmed, her face flushed in embarrassment.

"How long?" Pyrrha asked.

"A couple of days, a week at most," Weiss answered as she continued to pick at her food with her fork.

"Oh, that's good... I guess."

"He's lucky, considering that I didn't bash his skull in during our fight. If anything, his new Semblance saving his skin is either the luckiest thing that happened to him since, or the unluckiest," Yang remarked as grinned lightly, despite the situation that their teammate was currently in.

"I do have to admit, that was surprising. What do you think, Nora?" Jaune asked as he turned to face the orange-haired girl sitting beside him.

"Pancakes... wait what? Oh yeah, that was awesome!" she exclaimed.

"So... how do we deal with this? Shay has to leave your dorms sometime, whether he's... well, like that or not," Ren pointed out to the four members of RWBY.

"True, but how do we tell everyone that 'Oh, this certainly isn't Ruby's twin sister, this is just a guy who now _looks_ like Ruby and had just discovered his Semblance during a fight with Yang during their off time.'?" Weiss asked in a slightly patronizing tone as she cocked an eyebrow.

Now that they thought about it, they didn't know which sounded more crazy: Shay's Semblance turning him into Ruby or that a sane and reasonable individual such as him would deliberately fight against Yang out of his own free will.

"Good point, considering that Cardin still doesn't forgive him for that one incident at the ballroom, or during one of their earlier sparring matches, or during lunch at one point. Yeah... those two do not have a good record it comes to mutuality," Blake said, "At worst, Cardin will try to gang up on him when he's alone. At best, it'll just be teasing. Even then, Cardin _has_ been avoiding Shay ever since that incident with Jaune and the Emerald Forest."

"Even if that actually happened, I bet Cardin wouldn't last a minute against Shay, even with-"

 **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"** a loud, shrill, feminine shriek resonated throughout the Academy, even reaching the cafeteria. Everyone there turned to face the source of the voice. The direction they faced suggested that it came from one place and one place only.

"Oh no," Weiss whispered as she buried her face into her hands.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"Shay woke up," Yang answered as she got up from her seat, the rest of their team followed after her as they continued to run towards the source of the scream. Within minutes, they reached the dorm of Team RWBY. Yang quickly fished out her Scroll out from a pouch on her belt and unlocked the door.

"This is not going to be good," Weiss and Ruby said as Yang nearly kicked down the door.

Without warning, the rest of Teams JNPR and RWBY barged into the dorm, nearly tumbling over one another as they frantically searched for the man-turned-Ruby-Rose.

"Where is she- I mean he- I mean- oh never mind!"

"What the hell is going on!" they heard a voice yell at them. At first, it sounded like Ruby, but this voice had more authority in it, as well as vulgarity.

Everyone turned to see what appeared to be Ruby, but wearing a smaller version of Shay's clothing. Despite this Ruby's silver eyes retaining a sort of innocent look to them, they also possessed a stern, possibly even cold look to them.

As soon as the words left "Ruby's" mouth, Yang immediately stormed towards him (her?) and backhanded him across the face.

"What was that for!" Shay (after some realization from the others) yelled at her, Yang was about to prepare for another smack, but stopped herself and sheepishly smiled at him in an apologetic way.

"Um... sorry about that, Shay, it's just that I don't like to hear Ruby curse," she then turned to face her little sister, "She's lucky that she only said a really bad word three times in her entire life," Yang scratched the back of her head nervously before shooting a look at Ruby.

"Yeah, I remembered that. Shay, just... don't say anything like that around her. Please?" Ruby said to her new doppelganger, who only crossed his (her? Seriously, this was confusing for both teams) arms and looked at the two of them before his hands fell to his sides.

"Alright, I won't," Shay said before his expression darkened and he grit his teeth in anger, still uncomfortable with his new voice.

"Was a slap really necessary?" Blake asked.

"I gave Ruby a choice long time ago, it was either that or a bar of soap in her mouth. And big guy over here is lucky that I slapped him," Yang turned to face Blake, pointing at the Templar with her thumb over her shoulder.

"I thought the soap would taste like strawberries!" Ruby whined, cringing at the near-traumatizing memory, "I can still taste the suds... it's terrible!"

"Well you thought wrong, missy."

"I was seven!"

"So?"

 _Big guy? How ironic given my circumstances..._ Shay thought bitterly, taking note that he was now Ruby's height.

"Wait a minute, why do you look like you're wearing your old outfit?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe it's because I _am_ wearing my old outfit," Shay responded dryly while cocking an eyebrow up at the blonde-haired boy.

"No, I meant when you first... used your Semblance, your clothes turned into Ruby's combat clothes for some reason. Now they're back to normal, if only just a bit smaller."

"Maybe because when Shay's Semblance turned him into Ruby, I think it identified Shay's apparel as a combat outfit, so it only makes sense if Shay became Ruby, then it would have to compensate with clothing as well," Weiss hypothesized.

"But why does Shay's clothes not change form with him this time?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe it only works if it was already worn without changing," the Heiress continued before stopping herself, realizing what she was saying before giving a shocked look at the man.

Unfortunately, Yang and Ruby caught on as well, "You changed your clothes?"

Shay watched as Ruby blushed as red as the highlights on her hair, while Yang gave him a suspicious look.

"Of course, I had to," Shay answered, Yang's eyes glowed red as she finally closed in on him, now towering over the Ruby doppelganger.

"Guys, I think we should leave now," Jaune suggested to the rest of his team.

"No! We never leave a man behind!" Nora whispered to her teammates.

"Jaune has a point, we don't want to get involved when Yang's Semblance comes into play," Pyrrha agreed with her leader, earning a slight nod from the boy.

"Traitors! We'll save you Shaaaaaaaayyy...!" Nora yelled as she was dragged by the rest of her friends into their own dorm, leaving the man to his fate.

"How much did you see?" Yang asked, now inches from Shay, with her hair flaring outward and her eyes turning red. She then hoisted him up by the collar of his outfit and roughly pressed him against the wall.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Blake asked.

"Still don't want to get involved in this madness," Weiss answered as she scooted away from the scene.

"Where have I heard that one before?" the faunus wondered sarcastically.

"Quiet you!" the Heiress hissed.

"Nothing! I saw nothing, I didn't even notice until I was in the bathroom," he responded in panic, but that didn't seem to help him anymore, telling from Ruby's reaction as she blushed even further. Her face could not possibly get any more red than it already was. Yang glared at him with pure ferocity as her eyes narrowed at him further.

Blake's hand covered the lower portion of her face as she blushed furiously at the boy's inference, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. Weiss, on the other hand, facepalmed at both Shay's comment and the Faunus' actions.

Shay's eyes widened in realization as he realized what he had said, "That's not what I meant! What I mean is that I was rinsing my face and I didn't know what had happened to me until I looked in the mirror again, nothing more than that!"

Both girls seemed to calm down as Shay was let go, landing on his feet with a soft thud.

"Alright... we'll let you go just this once. But if you try anything like that, I will _**murder**_ you, Ruby disguise or not," Yang threatened with an accusing finger, to which Shay raised his arms in defeat.

"I'm not that indecent," Shay responded before walking back to his bed and sitting down on it, his chin resting on his fist as his arm leaned on his leg, as though he was thinking contemplatively.

What was only seconds felt more like hours as they looked at Shay once more in silence.

"You uh... you going to get lunch?" Ruby asked curiously, earning an irritated look from her doppelganger, "Oh."

"Correct, 'oh'. Look at me!" Shay yelled as he got up from his bed and turned to face the mirror, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing deeply, "I'm... I'm..."

"A girl?" Ruby raised an eyebrow suspiciously, as though she was about to be insulted.

"Adorable," he said with his eye twitching ever so often. Shay then turned to face Ruby, who was looking down with a small blush on her face.

 _I'm not supposed to look like this! I'm a Templar, dammit! Even more, a Grand Master and an Assassin Hunter!_ he mentally screamed within his mind, a scowl formed on his face as he continued to rant within his head.

"Okay, we get it. We'll get you something from the Cafeteria, but you're getting out of the dorm on Monday whether you fixed this Semblance problem or not, got it?" Yang demanded, crossing her arms and looking at the Templar with a concerned gaze.

"Of course," Shay's eye twitched slightly before he looked back at the mirror, "In the meantime, I'll just stay here until Monday, I guess."

"Sounds like a plan," Ruby responded with slight enthusiasm, but it then faltered as Shay fell back onto his bed and rubbed at his temples with the tips of his fingers in annoyance, "We'll see you in a bit."

"Right," Shay responded, watching as they began to leave the room, one by one.

He then closed his eyes and concentrated on his old form within his mind: him in his old body, the Templar now taller than Yang by several inches, brown hair,... the scar over his right eye. He opened his eyes... nothing, nothing changed.

The Templar closed his eyes and groaned in frustration as his own pained attempt to revert his form failed to produce any effects.

"Hey," Shay opened his eyes and to see Weiss sitting beside him on his bed, "You alright?"

"What do you think?" he responded bitterly, earning a small punch to the shoulder by the white-haired heiress.

"Shut up, I'm trying to help you," she huffed as leaned over to get a better look at him.

"Of course, continue, dear Miss Schnee," the Templar grinned lightly while rolling his eyes.

"Alright, I'm not going to say I know how you feel, mostly because I honestly don't. The point is, the nurse said that this would only be temporary. Besides, would this really stop you from getting to class?"

The Ruby doppelganger merely grunted incomprehensibly.

"What was that?" she gave him an amused smirk.

"No," he said, "It's just that this is... different."

"Of course this is different, this is your first time using your Semblance. This is probably going to happen again and again, and YOU are not going to give into this! You are Shay Cormac: my teammate, friend, and-"

"~You better finish that last sentence with something gooooooood!" Yang shouted at them from outside the room.

"Yang! Go away!" Weiss screamed at her.

"Hmph... spoil sports..." they only heard.

"Goddammit, Yang," Shay said before Weiss looked back at him again.

" _The point is,_ you'll probably do worse things than this so just _shut up and suck it up!_ " she shouted at him in frustration, earning a strange wide-eyed look from Shay before sitting up.

Weiss suddenly realized what she had said before looking downward, her face beginning to flush furiously.

"Okay, that was uncalled for. I'm sorry if-"

"Thank you."

She looked up at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Thank you, Weiss. You're right, I shouldn't be acting like this, I have been acting childish ever since this incident started. So thank you for helping me see reason," he said, but the Heiress gave him a sheepish smile.

"Honestly, this was supposed to come off as some sort of motivational pep talk... but I guess this'll have to do?" Weiss tried to say before she was pulled into a hug from Shay.

"Of course... Ice Queen," Shay smirked mischievously, earning a look of surprise and irritation from the Heiress.

"Sh-shut up!" she snapped at him, pulling away from the hug and pouting slightly at the mention of her nickname, causing the Templar to close his eyes and laugh for a bit before looking at her once more with a small grin.

Shay continued to smile, only in a more bemused fashion, "Well then... Monday, correct?"

"Of course, Monday," Weiss nodded and stood up, smoothed out any creases in her dress before turning away for the door, looked back at Shay one more time, and left, closing the door behind her.

The Templar fell back onto the bed, sinking further into the mattress.

He turned to the side and spotted something out of the corner of his eye, something red. Shay then reached out with his hand, picked it up, and inspected it. It was the ribbon that he was searching for. He then shrugged and set it back on his nghtstand.

"Monday then," he said to himself as he continued to stare at the ceiling, "How bad could it be?"

 **-Never compromise the Assassin Brotherhood-**

 **Beacon Academy  
12:06 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

 _Agh, my head..._ I thought to myself as I began to open my eyes, then immediately shut them as I was greeted a bright light shining upon my eyes.

Instead, I curled my fingers, trying to get a feel of where I was. My hand grasped at soft cloth wrapped around me: a blanket. I silently hissed as pain shot up my arm. With both my eyes blurred and temporarily blinded by the light, I decided to use my other senses.

The air was... pure, clean. At first, I would guess that I was in an apothecary, but I knew that such a place this clean couldn't possibly exist.

Was I dead? It appeared so, the afterlife would be a possible explanation, but then again I didn't expect to end up wounded in Paradise, especially with... those beasts, those pitch-black demonic creatures...

I continued to listen to the beeping monotone noise beside me. Unknown of the source, I turned to look at it, opening one of my eyes and trying to adjust to the light. My eye narrowed in confusion at the source. It was some sort of device attached to a long rod that jutted from the floor, to which I then looked at the floor. The ground was smooth and shiny, reflecting the shine that seemed to be coming from the lights on the ceiling. I looked around to see the walls were also an immaculate white as well, with some lightly colored floral designs painted on them. Around the room were seats and a table with an array of drawers and cabinets sitting beside the table.

I looked back up at the device and spotted a long, jagged blue light that seemed to pulsate, giving off a quiet beep as it continued to pulsate.

"He's waking up," I heard, looking at the owner of the voice, I opened my other eye, which seemed to blur for a second before I blinked both eyes, trying to clear my vision.

I looked up to see a young girl with brown hair, sporting a beret atop her head, as well as a pair of bifocals with black lenses. She was dressed in a brown shirt which possessed a scarf around her neck, as well as what appeared to be a darker brown corset over her shirt.

"Look who's up, you're lucky you're alive, big guy. Velvet almost lost an ear trying to save your sorry hide," she smirked, lowering the bifocals, revealing chocolate brown eyes looking at him with concern.

"Where... where am I?" I asked, looking around.

"You're in the infirmary, getting patched up. Seriously, you would've been nothing but scars and stitches if we arrived any bit later. Speaking of which, despite how much of dashing looker you are, you're pretty dumb for going into the Emerald forest without having your Aura unlocked. What were you thinking?" the girl chastised.

Despite not knowing half of the words she said, I answered, "It's complicated."

"Alright then, Ozpin'll want to meet with you once he gets here," she turned and walked away, "The last time someone ended in a forest, it was one of the first-year students. That idiot was unfortunate enough to land in another forest. Had he ended up in Emerald or Forever Fall, we could've gotten him sooner. I think Shay was just lucky he survived without an Aura as well."

I looked at her in suspicion, "Shay?"

"Yeah, Patty. Or Shay Patrick Cormac, as most people call him. I think you guys would really hit it off, y'know? Get a beer or something," she shrugged as she continued to walk out the door.

My eyes widened in shock, "S-Shay?"

She stopped just as soon as she was about to pass through the door, she looked at me with concern, "Yeah, you know him?"

I moved my legs in an attempt to get out of bed, but a sharp sting passed up my legs.

"Whoa, easy there! I need you to relax, your legs are still healing as well," she looked over to the door.

"Hey Velv, I need you to run and tell Ozpin to bring Patty with him before he gets here. Got it?"

"On it," I heard a faint voice say from beyond the door, listening as he heard the sound of fast-moving steps leave the area.

"I need to see Shay, now..." I breathed out before the girl stuck something sharp into my shoulder. I winced as it pierced my skin.

"Take it easy, this should ease the pain. Here-" she took something from the table and handed it to me, "Besides that broken sword of yours, or your clothes in the basket, this was the only thing that seemed in the best of shape for you.

I looked down at it, then looked up at her. Feeling the effects of whatever she stuck me with take effect, "Thank you."

"No problem, if you need me, just shout," she nodded before walking out the door.

 **-Uphold the principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **Beacon Academy  
9:10 AM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"Yang Xiao Long?" Professor Port called out, a paper held in front of his face as he was in the middle of a role call.

"Here," she said.

"Cardin Winchester?"

"...Here," the young man grunted in confirmation.

"Weiss Schnee?"

"Present."

Two days have passed with Shay having to stay inside the Dorm, keeping himself hidden from the rest of the school. The only others that were aware of the man's unfortunate predicament were the rest of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch.

"Nora Valkyrie?"

"HERE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Well, Nora's real ec-STATIC to be here. Am I right?" Yang remarked, earning a several groans and disappointed shaking of heads, obviously disapproving of the young blonde's attempt at humor.

"...I don't get it," Ruby said.

"Her Semblance," the blonde-haired girl deadpanned. She continued to watch as the gears continued to turn in the red-haired girl's mind before face-palming in irritation.

"Yang, why?"

"Because I said so!"

"Ahem-" Port cleared his throat loudly, earning his attention from the rest of the class, "-Moving on. Ruby Rose?"

"Here!"

"Russel Thrush?"

"Here."

"Shay Cormac?"

"Present," Shay said, causing some of the students around both him and Ruby to laugh, an embarrased blush emitting from the girl as this happened.

"Hmph, very funny, Miss Rose. Now, Shay Cormac?" Port continued to look down at his paper.

"Um, Professor? This isn't a joke, Shay finally discovered his Semblance... it's a shape-shifting Semblance," Ruby explained awkwardly, both she and the Templar sitting beside her shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The portly professor looked up from his paper and looked at the two from side to side with an eyebrow cocked upwards before taking off a pair of bifocals that he had suddenly been wearing and set them on his desk.

"Ah, alright then," he nodded before Blake heard him whisper to himself, " _This saves me a trip from the Optician, I thought I was seeing double for a moment there... and that explains why I thought I saw Ruby wearing the male Beacon Uniform._ "

The Faunus looked at both Ruby and her doppelganger. There were several differences that shouldn't have been overlooked, even from a man as... scholarly eccentric as Port, yet for some reason, this case was proven wrong. First was the uniforms, Ruby was wearing her normal _female_ Beacon Uniform, while Shay was wearing the male equivalent... it was still weird to see Ruby in a suit, despite the fact that it wasn't Ruby; secondly was that Shay had his (or Ruby's, this **_was_** confusing!) hair tied back with the same ribbon that he would usually wear, giving his Ruby equivalent a more professional appearance; thirdly was the expressions that they both bore, Ruby had that usually curiously innocent look of hers, while Shay's expression was more... sharper, focused or even mature was a better term to describe what could be going on in his mind.

All in all, despite both bearing the same appearance to an extent, there should've been some sort of peculiarity when they noticed Shay, but they paid no mind... weird.

"Speaking of which, this reminds me of a time where I myself had an encounter with a shape-shifting Huntsman... or Huntress... regardless! When I was but a lad, as young as all of you dear students were..."

Almost everyone in the room, on instinct, immediately tuned out the man's speech regarding himself. This was going to be another one of _those_ days...

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is permitted-**

 **10:50 AM**

After having to spend another grueling hour in Port's class, there was then Oobleck, which harbored nearly the same reaction, though in a more haste manner. Then there was Professor Peach, who's class was immediately cancelled after news of an injury regarding a venomous spider bite, sending him to the nearest infirmary. That now left Professor Goodwitch and her class in the amphitheater. On the bright side, he didn't have to be in that uncomfortable excuse for a suit.

Shay entered the arena with the rest of the team, examining the rounded room before finding a seat and sitting beside his teammates. He turned to see that some of the students around him were giving him strange looks, yet they ceased as soon as the Templar turned to face them, watching as they immediately looked up and pretended to focus on something else as soon as they were in his line of sight. He scowled at them and shook his head before looking back at the center of the arena.

He then felt a hand press on his shoulder, he turned to see a concerned Weiss looking at him.

"Not worth it," she whispered to him.

"I know, I remember what you told me," the Templar smiled lightly, earning a nod of approval from the Heiress.

"You better, Shay. You're better than that," Weiss reminded sternly before facing forward towards the Professor.

The crowd continued to listen to Goodwitch's lecture, it's main subject being the Vytal Festival Tournaments, and specifically, the Doubles rounds.

"As stated on the Vytal Festival Tournament's rules, upon completion of the four-on-four rounds, two members from each team will be selected to take part in the Doubles rounds. Like it's name, the two selected members will then engage in combat against an opposing team's pair of candidates as well. Our lesson for today? Two members from two teams each will spar against one another, in order to get a more direct approach of what you will encounter in the Tournaments," she explained.

It took a while for the Templar to understand during the first few days when he was in Beacon, but he realize that these sparring matches were not just meant to be simple battles. Though they are meant to be practices, there is often a meaning behind each win and loss, depending on the situation that occurs within the match. On some occasions, the meaning behind each match, as well as the choosing of specific combatants, were fairly obvious; but there were times when the situation is subtle, almost unnoticeable.

Meanwhile, Shay heard snickering behind him, he looked up to see Cardin just a few feet away, talking with the rest of his team while pointing at the Templar with his thumb.

"Is something amusing, Mister Winchester?" Shay asked, glaring at the man, but he was unfazed by his new form's angered scowl.

"What? Naw, nothing's wrong... Shea," Cardin sneered mischievously.

It took almost a minute for the Templar to realize what Cardin had said, finally noticing the deliberate error that the brute of a boy implied. With a small tweaking of pronunciation, Cardin had called Shay Shea, the more... feminine equivalent of his first name.

 _You bastard_ , Shay grit his teeth and stood up from his seat while facing the bully what was just mere feet away.

"Would you like to say that to my face, Winchester?" Shay challenged, feeling his own personal pride wounded from Cardin's insult.

"Um... Shay?" he heard Ruby whisper to him.

"Yeah, in fact I will," Cardin began to rise from his seat and walk towards the Templar.

"Enough! Both of you!" they turned to see Goodwitch glaring at the two of them before closing her eyes, inhaling, and looking at them with a more commanding expression, "If you two cannot control each others' egos, then I think it would be better kept in detention."

The two continued to glare at one another before Cardin grinned and looked at the Professor, "Alright then, I think it would be better idea if he and I volunteered for the first match. Whaddaya say, buddy?"

Shay scowled at the man before looking at Goodwitch, who was giving the boy an unamused look. Suddenly, Shay saw something almost terrifying: an uncharacteristic glint in the Professor's eye, it almost looked like amusement, despite her current manner.

"Very well, Mister Winchester. The first match will be Shay Patrick Cormac against Cardin Winchester, while the two are paired with a randomly selected teammate from each team," she announced before looking down at her Scroll and began tapping her finger against the screen until a holographic display was held for everyone in the amphitheater to see.

On it were the pictures of Shay Cormac and Cardin Winchester, but beside both pictures were a series if pictures spinning in a roulette-esque fashion, as each quickly flashed through , they noticed that the pictures displayed the rest of the combatants team members.

After several seconds of spinning, they stopped simultaneously. With Cardin's teammate being Sky Lark, and Shay's partner being... Ruby Rose.

 _Randomly selected... riiiiiiiiiiight..._ Shay grumbled before looking at the girl on his right, who now held a determined smile on her face, Shay merely shook his head and grinned at the girl's optimism before standing up, exiting the arena, and heading off to the locker room.

After several minutes had passed, they emerged from the entrance, with Cardin's mace slung over his shoulder, Sky's halberd held menacingly in both hands, Ruby holding Cresent Rose in it's rifle form, and Shay holding his sword in one hand and his gun-dagger in the other.

Shay gave his sword a few test swings before nodding at Ruby, who nodded back at him and cocked her scythe-rifle, a shell exited the deadly contraption and fell, bouncing across the floor with loud, echoing pings.

Ruby stood alongside Shay while Cardin and Sky did the same.

"Go get 'em guys!" they heard Yang say to the Templar and their leader.

Seconds felt like hours as Cardin and Shay glared daggers at one another.

"In five, four, three, two, one... begin," Goodwitch said before the match began.

Ruby raised her gun and fired at Cardin while Sky charged towards the Templar, his halberd held forward and ready to strike. The girl's shots were easily blocked by the larger boy, but jumped and stumbled back as Ruby unfolded the gun into it's full form, fired a shot backwards to close the gap between the two, and swung the curved blade in Cardin's direction, who barely managed to dodge as he ducked under the deadly weapon.

Shay, on the other hand, continued to block the swings and stabs that the dark blue-haired boy had thrown towards him. With Ruby's smaller frame, he was easily able to dodge the attacks a little more easier. He grabbed the weapon by it's handle as Sky ran at him and attempted to stab at him once more. The Templar's hand slid across the handle of halberd, grasped it once more and sharply raised it upwards; his end of the handle connected with Sky's face before the boy was kicked backwards by a black boot, sending him to the ground.

Sky rolled out of the way as Shay slammed his blade into the ground in his attempt to cleave the boy in half. The Templar watched as the boy scrambled to his feet with his weapon clutched tightly between his fingers, Shay grinned malevolently as he walked towards the boy with his sword swinging in his hand menacingly.

Ruby quickly activated her Semblance and began zipping across several areas of the arena, easily dodging the young man's futile swings at the girl. With each movement from one place to another, Ruby fired one shot after another at Cardin. Some were somehow dodged or blocked by the boy, most likely out of sheer luck, while the rest impacted into various parts of his body, steadily draining his Aura at the same time. Though she didn't know it, Ruby was getting reckless, she used her Semblance one more time and stood on the opposite side of the amphitheater as Cardin was and fired another round, this time using her scythe to propel herself feet forwards against Cardin's chestplate in an attempt to knock him onto his back.

Instead, as Ruby flew towards the man, he grabbed onto one of her ankles and used her momentum to slam her against the floor.

"Oof!" Ruby grunted painfully, her scythe slipped out of her grasp and slid backwards, "No! Shay!"

Shay stumbled back slightly as Sky managed to land a hit against his torso, but retaliated as he parried another swing from Sky's axehead and pushed him away, sending him tumbling off a few feet back. He turned as he heard his name being called out. Shay looked down to see Cresent Rose absent of it's owner at his feet. He suddenly heard a sharp whoosh behind him and ducked, the head of a halberd missed his head by mere centimetres. The Templar hastily sheathed his sword and dagger, picked up the gun, turned around, and fired a round at Sky, who was holding his weapon above his head, trying to slam his medieval weapon onto his skull. The force of the sniper-scythe's bullet threw the boy backwards into the wall behind him.

Suddenly, as though on some sort of unknown instinct, Shay pressed a button on Cresent Rose, watching as it quickly unfurled into it's gigantic scythe form. He turned to see Cardin, with his mace held upwards, as though he was about to deliver a final blow. The Templar cocked Ruby's weapon and charged towards the man.

Cardin looked up in surprise to see a red and black figure followed by crimson rose petals slam Ruby's scythe into his abdomen, sending him sprawling as well. He quickly recovered and got to his feet, watching as the Ruby duplicate spun the scythe _exactly_ how the real Ruby would before lodging it into the ground.

"W-was that-?" Jaune tried to say.

"Ruby's Semblance," Yang concluded, her eyes widened in shock from the scene that had unfolded.

The Templar looked down to see Ruby with a bewildered look on her face before resuming a calm expression. Shay let go of the scythe, with Ruby catching it in mid-fall as it was slowly unlodging from the ground. He watched as both Sky and Cardin got up from the ground from opposite ends of the amphitheater. Shay slowly inhaled and unsheathed his sword, standing back-to-back with Ruby as she cocked her scythe one more time before they slowly walked away from one another to face their opponents.

Cardin rushed towards Shay, while Sky went for Ruby. Cardin held the advantage over Shay with his mace and it's explosive hits when making contact with almost anything, but Shay, with his ability and shorter frame, was more susceptible to avoid these blows. On the other hand, Ruby held an almost complete advantage to Cardin's teammate in terms of it's ballistic capabilities and that fact that a scythe (at least in Remnant) was one of the most dangerous and formidable weapons there was in the four kingdoms.

Shay dodged another swing from Winchester's mace and struck back with his sword, only to miss as Cardin narrowly sidestepped out of the way. He unsheathed his dagger and managed to block a blow from Cardin's handle, the mace missing it's mark as the boy miscalculated his aim. Shay parried the attack by swinging the interlocked weapon to the side, leaving Cardin open for a counterattack. The Templar shifted his dagger into it's pistol form and placed the barrel of the gun at Cardin's chest.

"This is the part where you lose," Shay sneered evilly before pulling the trigger, watching as the boy's eyes went wide in terror. A loud bang sounded off from the gun, throwing Cardin back several feet before hitting the floor with a solid thud. Cardin groaned painfully as he tried to stand back up with the help of his mace, only to fall back over after losing his footing.

Shay turned to see Ruby finishing off Sky, the head of his halberd was stuck on the handle of Cresent Rose. Ruby struggled to push the boy away from her, but he stubbornly held on with a vice-like grip. This struggle seemed to go on until Ruby formed a plan within that brain of hers. She slowly and steadily tilted Cresent Rose's scythe blade until it was pulled closer towards her, while Sky continued to attempt to pull his weapon away from hers. She finally pulled the trigger, the Templar watched as the scythe rocketed forward and slammed the end of boy across the side of the face with his own halberd's handle. She then finished him off with a final shot the shoulder as he was attempted to balance himself.

"And this winners are Ruby Rose and Shay Cormac," Goodwitch concluded before turning to the rest of the audience, "Does anyone know why both Misters Winchester and Lark lost this match?"

At the mention of their name, Cardin and Sky finally stood up and walked off, their personal pride bruised nearly beyond repair as they walked off, their hands clutching at their wounds before their Aura began to take effect. Cardin shot a glare at Shay before walking off, knowing full well that he had been utterly defeated in this fight.

The Professor was only answered with silence before Weiss' hand shot up.

"Yes, Miss Schnee?"

"It's because they were arrogant. Cardin lost not just because of Ruby's skill with her own weapon or Shay's current situation regarding his form and... sudden ability, but also taking into the fact that Cardin was too blinded by his own ego that he forgot to take into account that they were fighting against an opponent based on speed and another on experience," she answered, watching as Ruby and Shay gave her almost identical smiles... it creeped her out a bit, but she was fine nonetheless.

"Not the way I would put it, but you are correct. Miss Rose put her Semblance to full use, giving her the ability to use speed to quickly maneuver the area, putting it to her advantage. As for Mister Cormac, he is more suited for more close-quarters combat, giving him an edge," she then gave the students a stern look.

"But don't expect all that I have explained to be an advantage should you fight against anyone of similar caliber. Remember, they are students just like the rest of you, they still learning and thus, will able to adapt to new situations," Goodwitch finished, watching as the four returned to their seats, having to sit through another hour of having to watch fights and listening to lectures.

Yang turned to see Shay, who was holding a look of what could only be described as somber and annoyance. She knew this look: it was Ruby's 'I-hate-Mondays' look; and coincidentally, it was Monday.

"Shay? What was that?" Jaune just had to ask as he sat beside him.

"What?" his expression lightened into that of confusion.

"That thing. It looked like Ruby's Semblance," he explained, earning an even more confused look.

"I don't understand," Shay said, cocking his head to the side.

"When Cardin was about to hit Ruby, you used her Semblance to... hit... him..." the answer slowly began to dawn on the two teams that surrounded the Templar.

"Shape-shifting isn't the only part of your Semblance!" Pyrrha said in realization, "It appears that you can use another person's Semblance if you take their form."

"But the only person I've shifted into is Ruby," he pointed to the girl, then gestured to himself in emphasis.

"Well, it _does_ make sense: you turn into Ruby, therefore, you can use Ruby's Semblance."

"Huh, if that's the case, I wonder what it would be like to fight myself," Yang wondered, imagining her fighting herself in close-quarters combat, "But I think I would win."

"Which one?"

"I..." the blonde boxer tried to say before her face dropped into that of deep contemplation.

Suddenly, Nora gasped after some thought of his Semblance, "If you were disguised as me, you can use my Semblance to-"

"NO!" both teams shouted, knowing that if there were two Noras, that would bring the end of the Remnant as they knew it.

Ren turned to face her, "No offense, Nora, but we think one of you is enough."

The orange-haired girl looked at Ren with some thought before glaring at Shay with deep ferocity.

"He's right, **_there could only be one_** ," she growled, causing everyone (in the entire, to those peoples' confusion) to move a foot away from the Valkyrie.

"Um... okay... let's just watch the rest of the fights," Shay stuttered before turning back to watch the next few fights before the red-haired leader interrupted.

"Hey, I just noticed something. Even though Shay looks and sounds like me, does anyone else notice that he still has a little bit of that accent he always has?" Ruby asked the rest of the group, who looked at her with a strange look before turning to Shay.

"What are you talking about?" Shay asked, before earning several surprised looks from the group.

"Yeah, he does. It's almost like you guys talking at the exact same time, only Ruby's voice is louder. Huh, I never noticed," Jaune said with an impressed nod.

"Yeah, good ears sis," Yang complimented.

"Speaking of ears, if Shay can turn into anyone, does that mean..." Blake asked, her eyes darting upwards, emphasizing the bow on her head.

Shay's eye started to twitch irritably, "Can you all stop talking about my Semblance for just one second. Do I need to be reminded of the situation that I'm currently in?" he hissed at them, his face turning red in embarrassment.

"Woah! Okay, sorry, sorry. We didn't know that it was still a touchy subject," Yang raised her arms before throwing him a playful smirk, "But you got to admit, you look adorable with that pouty face right now."

This response caused Shay to facepalm. Hard.

"Grr..." Shay growled before getting up and walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"If you need me, I'll be at our dorm," he muttered as he walked away.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **12:10 PM  
**

Shay stood in front of the mirror, glaring fiercely at his reflection.

This was it. This had to work.

The Templar concentrated hard on one thought and one thought only: to revert himself back to his original form.

His mind continued to press down on that one singular objective, his face began to turn red after this thinking. Shay watched as a single vessel appeared on the doppelganger's face as proof of his frustration. Shay's nails began to dig into the sink as his face inched closer to the mirror, trying to invoke some reaction.

Then suddenly, as though a switch was flipped on, then off again. For almost a split second, he stared back at his old form, but it was for a split second; he saw that he had changed back into Ruby's form unintentionally and immediately after.

The 'at-least-I'm-making-progress' excuse for optimism wasn't enough as his rage began to grow to a boiling point.

His eye twitched as he stared at the rest of his reflection once more, and, like in accordance to his Semblance, his original combat clothes shifted into Ruby's combat skirt once again; this process for his clothes would be solved if he were to remove them. But he certainly did not want risk going through that process again, now that he was fully aware of the predicament he was currently in.

Shay sighed as his hand went to his face in irritation. That same smooth, feminine hand. He growled silently at the thought.

 _Why me of all people?!_ He fumed before hearing a knock at the door.

"WHAT IS IT?!" he yelled furiously as he stormed out of the bathroom and opened the door violently.

"Good afternoon, Shay," Professor Ozpin greeted, standing behind him was Velvet, the rabbit Faunus that he had helped with that incident with Cardin and the mess hall.

"Shay? Is that you? What happened?" Velvet asked as she poked her head through the door.

"Fight with Yang. Accident Semblance. Shape shifting. Wait a minute, how could you not tell it was me? Don't we have the same class at Oobleck's?" he only said before looking at the silver-haired man, "And how could you tell it was me?"

"Well, our going to your dorm is the current reason why I haven't been in class," Velvet answered, scratching the back of her head nervously.

Ozpin merely smiled at him, "Last time I checked, Ruby has never had a ponytail."

Shay's hand reached for the back of his head to find out that the ribbon was still tied behind his hair, even after the split-second change.

"Alright sir, what do you want?" he calmed down after his mental rant.

"Velvet told me to bring you, it involves someone we had just found in the Emerald forest," Ozpin explained before walking down the hallway, watching as Shay caught up with the two.

"Like me?" he asked quizzically.

"No, you were found far beyond either the Emerald or Forever Fall forests. This one was merely fortunate enough to land here, armed with only a sword and a pair of pistols that you had once used."

 _Flintlocks_ , Shay thought in surprise. This was surely someone from his world.

"Do you have any idea who this person is?"

"Like you, he hasn't appeared on any of our databases regarding ID. He hasn't introduced himself either, since he had just woken up," they continued to converse as they strolled down the empty hallways before coming to a halt, stopping in front of a room labeled in bold letters: **Infirmary.**

He walked through the door and entered a small office, behind the counter was a nurse who looked then up at him, "Oh, you're here for the new patient?"

"Aye," Shay answered, earning a strange look from the woman before nodding her head.

"He's in room number sixty-seven," she said, pressing a small red button. The Templar heard the sound of the door unlocking and sliding open. He passed through the door and continued down a long white corridor. Down this corridor were a vast number of rooms that spanned almost endlessly, each door leading to a room with a patient inside.

Shay started to randomly counted the labels on the doors: 10... 24... 29... 34... 39... 46... 55... 63... ah: 67.

"Hey Patty, like the new look," he heard a voice say to him as the door opened up.

"Hello Coco," Shay grumbled at the grinning young woman, "How'd you guess?"

Shay had recently met Coco and the rest of Team CFVY a week back. The first time he met her, he greeted her with his full name. Ever since then, she has been calling him 'Patty' ever since. Not that he didn't mind, but it would only be a matter of time before it would get on his nerves.

"Word travels fast for me. So how's the Semblance thing working for you?"

"Terrible. Can I come in?"

She pretended to think about it, "Eh, why not? He says he knows you, keeps requesting to see you ever since I said your name."

Shay furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Who could possibly want to meet with him?

Cautiously, Shay unsheathed his hidden blades and slowly stepped into the room.

The Templar expected to see an Assassin that had held a grudge, a soldier who had been caught up in this mess, or even a crew member of the _Morrigan_.

Instead, he was greeted by a sight that nearly shocked him. He stood there, staring at the man, stunned by who this person was.

Shay immediately sheathed his blades, knowing now that this was neither an unfortunate soldier, or an Assassin.

No... he recognized that face, despite the fact that it was now younger. Those cold eyes, that regal expression, even that stiff frown that he always wore. This had to be him.

The man gave him a confused glance before introducing himself, "Ahem... hello, I believe we haven't met. My name is-"

"Haytham Kenway," Shay answered, his eyes still widened to the size of dinnerplates, standing before the former Grandmaster of the Templar Order.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Sorry for being so late, guys. Christmas is making me lazy at the moment. I'll update more as soon as I can.**

 **This wasn't supposed to be released on Christmas, but it was so... Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and have a good night! (Or good morning! Wherever you guys are!)**

 **Also, I apologize if this feels a bit rushed, but I hope that I made up for it with the ending of this chapter. (PS: Although some of you don't want more Assassin's Creed characters coming, I'll say it now. These two will be the ONLY people in the AC franchise to appear legitimately in this fic. Just as a heads up.)**

 **PS: I apologize for insulting anyone who's name is spelled "Shea".**

 **Stay beautiful ladies and gents, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15: Kenway

**Q &A: **

**Kin** **g** **Edgar: Edgar is the one in the hole, therefore, so do you! *Laughs evilly in Spanish*. **

**FanficCrossoverMaster15: Yup, but time is not an important factor in the afterlife, now is it? So just because Shay died later doesn't mean that Haytham can appear in Remnant later on. **

**Reader: You have just given me an idea for saying this... thank you. **

**Zone-Meister: I know what you mean, it was pretty damn cringe-y to make that last chapter. **

**Greymangames:** **Thank you very much, I appreciate it.**

 **geoffrey hogue:** **Oh, don't worry, it's not going to be that bad... I think.**

 **Justus80: I did. Also, no offense but I think it would be a better idea if you posted those reviews on the subject in which it would regard itself, rather than on a different story, I can see reviews on both, you know? ( I mean no offense, but I just wanted to point that out. Please don't flame me! *Runs away and ducks for cover*)**

 **Guest: I'm confused. Why Yang specifically? **

**COShepard: Well, not the best, but at the same time, not the worst. Both the Assassins and the Templars are in the morally grey area, so neither can be perceived as truly evil or truly good.**

 **Guest: Umm... what?**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov:** **I understand, don't worry though.**

 **And finally, For those that said that they were not expecting this: Exactly, that's why I did it, you wouldn't expect it. **

* * *

**Author's Notes:** **Wow, I'm happy that you guys love this, thank you for taking the time to read and enjoy this story.**

 **Also, don't forget to check out some of my other stories if you haven't already. (Seriously? You're advertising your stories on your first one? WHY YES I AM! Are you doing because you're desperate for reviews? WHY NO I'M NOT! Then why are you doing this? BECAUSE I WANT TOO! Godammit...)**

 **Lastly, we're kicking this fic into full gear and back into the canon story once again! Let us proceed onward! Ad Victoriam!**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed**

 _It struck me, when the bombardment began, and I began to pray Charles had made his escape. This might be my final journal entry; these words, my last. I hope that Connor, my own son, will read this journal, and perhaps,... when he knows little about my own journey through life, understand me, maybe even forgive me. My own path was paved with lies, my mistrust forth within treachery, but my own father... never lied to me. And with this journal, I preserved that custom. I present the truth, Connor, that you may do with it as you will.  
_

 _-Haytham Kenway._

* * *

 **Emerald Forest  
8:50 PM  
Day 9, Friday (Month 11, 0)  
**

From the sharp sting of Connor's blade, I knew that I had died... I do not remember much the details of what happened between what happened after, besides a short monologue to my son as well as several... horrifying things, visions that would chill the masses to their bones; all that I knew was that I no longer dead now. At least that's what I thought.

I opened my eyes to see that I was no longer on the rocky ground of Fort George. Instead, I was... in a forest? It was dark, and I was leaning against a nearby tree. With a groan, I picked myself up off the ground and onto my feet. I brushed off any dirt that had seemed to have accumulated on me.

At first, I thought that I was merely in the American Frontier, where plants were the majority of the dark green forest and where fierce predators roamed the land, preying on wild game; but I had made a discovery that proved me wrong: the moon.

The bright grey celestial body itself was shattered, fragmented into several pieces. From this, I now knew I was somewhere else, far from anything I would ever know. I could feel at the very pits of my mind that I could not possible fathom where I was, so I might as well make sure that I could make it out alive with what only seemed to be the clothes on my back, the equipment that had been brought with me, and my own wits.

I inspected the items that I had been carrying. First, I unsheathed my blades, watching as they sprung from my wrists, visible to anyone with a keen eye in a crowd. I grabbed hold of the flintlocks that were still within their holster, the wood was polished and looked just as new as the day it was bought, just as one with experience in such things should expect; I then grasped the sword from my hip and lifted it from it's sheathe, the silver blade seemed to glow in the moonlight.

At first, I would have been transfixed by the beauty of such a blade, were it not for the dark, bestial monster I saw in it's reflection. Acting purely on instinct, I ducked under a claw that looked as though it would've torn an average man to shreds.

But Haytham Kenway was no average man. I back-stepped away from the beast, my infantry sword held in front of me in a defensive stance, the blade pointed upwards but angled out slightly. My free hand was held behind my back.

This beast was pitch-black and roughly the same size as me, vaguely taking on a wolf-like appearance, the only things that stood out were the spines that ran along it's back, it's bone mask-like face, and the glowing, burning charcoal eyes; but I had no time to consider the danger. Besides, an animal was still an animal; and I have faced wolves before.

I watched as the creature let out a roar and sprinted towards me on all fours, running closer and closer to me. With a ferocious growl, it attempted to rake it's claws against me, but I ducked once more before lunging forward, sword in hand. The tip of the blade perforated through the animal's throat, I quickly finished off with my free hand that had once been held behind my back, now with a hidden blade unsheathed and impaled into another portion of it's neck.

"It will take a lot more than a simple dog to kill me," I said to both myself and the creature.

The monster let out a quiet whimper before it finally fell limp. With a grunt, I managed to pry my sword and blade from it's neck. I watched in shock as the beast hat I had killed began to dissipate, meaning that parts of it were literally vanishing into thin air. I shook my head at the sight and sheathed my weapons, planning to continue traveling through the forest until I finally encounter civilization once more.

It was not until almost literally a minute until I heard growling once more. I unsheathed my sword and a hidden blade from my left hand, ready to retaliate against whatever came after me.

What I did not expect see were several more of these monsters, slowly circling around me. It seems that I had spoken too soon.

"Shite," I muttered under my breath, sheathing my hidden blade and pulling out one of my flintlocks. It did not seem to be much, but it would have to do.

They each unleashed a simultaneous roar and charged at me. I knew that I had but a slim chance of survival as I stood in the middle of this ambush, but I must endure.

I raised the flintlock pistol towards the closest in front of me and fired. The lead ball left the pistol in an explosive blast, traveling through the air and impacting on one of the creature's shoulders, no luck. I dropped the weapon and ducked under it's swipe, pulling out my other pistol and firing into the pack of beasts as they continued to charge at me, watching as they did not falter from any wounds that I had attempted to inflict.

With the blade on my left wrist now unsheathed, I had attempted to dodge and weave through each attack they relentlessly inflicted upon me, slashing and maneuvering through the group, though unsuccessfully, earning a scratch, a bruise, or a painful bite from many of these creatures, only for me to shake free from their grasp in pyrrhic success.

This fighting went on for what seemed like hours, but was more than likely only a few minutes. I had felt every claw that raked against me, every bones cracking as a creature threw itself and made impact upon me, and every tooth that bit down on several portions of my body.

I didn't know how I was still alive, but it was more than likely the heat of the fight that had attempted to keep me breathing, my clothes were torn, my skin was covered in scratches and bruises, more than likely fatal; my sword now in pieces, the shards strewn about the forest floor, the only things that seemed to have worked were my hidden blades.

The creatures had stared at me with ferocity as I clumsily stood away from them, doing my best not to keel over. I ran my right sleeve across my lip, looking down to see a small amount of blood. I knew that I would most likely die in this place, I would have turned tail and run any bit earlier, they had surrounded me before, but now I am away from them, albeit injured. I quickly turned and tried to run in a futile attempt to escape these abominations, blood oozing from one of my legs as a result of a bite wound from those creatures.

I did not even make it past more than a couple meters, my legs giving way as I tumbled to the ground. Those creatures gave out a shrill howl and quickly made their way towards me, eager to tear apart at my flesh.

This was it, this was how I would die... again, after minutes in an unknown place. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate once more.

That is... until I heard an explosion go off.

 ***BOOM!***

I opened my eyes to see a _very_ strange and shocking sight. I witnessed a tall imposing man standing in the middle of a large crater, a menacing orange sword in his hand. The brutish, yet young-looking man stood taller than anyone I had ever seen before, wearing a yellow-green robe with a leather belt tied around his waist, a segmented plate of armour guarded his left shoulder.

"Fox, Velvet, you're up!" I heard a feminine voice call out near the robed giant.

Upon the arrival of the man, three more individuals sprang from behind him: a dark-skinned boy with red hair and white pupils with strange blades attached to his arms, a girl clothed in brown and yellow armor as well as a black, seemingly skin-tight garb underneath, with the oddest thing about her being a pair of rabbit ears that sprouted atop her head; and another girl dressed in several shades of brown, sporting a pair of black bifocals over her eyes, though there was a green-tint to the lenses.

I watched, though barely given my condition, as the two threw themselves at these creatures. The boy's blades tore at the beasts while one of the girls bounced about the battlefield, one by one each monster swiftly fell. Even though I was currently suffering from the pain, I watched in amazement as they decimated the monsters.

The girl dressed in brown and black pulled out what appeared to be a small, black box, and pressed a button on the handle. I continued to witness the small, seemingly harmless item she had been carrying transform into an even larger contraption: a golden, boxed machine with several cylindrical rods sticking out horizontally and bound together by rings. With this new device aimed at the rest of the creatures, the weapon, upon realization after seeing it's usage, was fired, watching as the unfortunate creatures that were in it's sights get torn apart, bullets ripping apart it's black flesh until they were nothing but masses of dark puddles.

I unconsciously groaned in pain, once the fight was over. It seemed that the rabbit-eared girl heard my pain and carefully walked towards me.

"He's hurt. Come on, let's get him back to Beacon," she said, wrapping her arms around me in an attempt to pick me up. I heard a crash nearby and a loud growl, the girl in front of me screamed in pain as the creature that ambushed her ran it's claws through one of her ears.

"Yatsuhashi!" the other girl yelled, apparently to the large man, who only nodded and quickly bounded to the monster with his sword in hand before slamming it in a downward arc, cleaving the monster's head down the middle and splitting it perfectly in half, slumping over and falling onto it's side, finally dead.

"M-my ear..." she whimpered, trying to press her hand against the painful-looking scratch that covered her left rabbit ear.

"It'll be alright, just let your Aura heal it and we'll see if we can do anything about it. As for him... we need to get him stabilized," the other girl said, leaning over me and pulling off her bifocals somewhat to get a better look at me before pulling out a sharp-looking object from a box that the larger man had in one of his hands.

I watched as she inserted the object into my arm and pushed it further, I winced at the sharp sting before I started to fell my eyes start to feel heavy.

The last thing I heard were, "Yatsuhashi, do you think you can carry him?"

"Hm... he will be no trouble for me."

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 _ **Present Day...**_

 **Beacon Academy  
12:25 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

The former Grandmaster looked up at the girl in front of him in suspicion. In his head, he kept repeating the words that she had said as soon as they saw one another.

"Haytham Kenway," she had muttered, almost as though in realization, "You're alive?!"

The girl standing before Haytham was pale in complexion and possessed bright silver eyes, with her hair being a mixture of both black and red, she was wearing a black dress trimmed with red, with a corset wrapped around her waist. Her skirt seemed to stick out somewhat largely above her knees, with her legs fully displayed for others to see. Trailing along her shoulders was a cape held together by a pair of pins in the shape of a cross.

She looked as though she was dumbfounded by my appearance, trying to take in whatever was going on. Even then, I was still perplexed by this situation.

"Excuse me? Who are you? I asked to see Shay Cormac," Haytham asked, concerned by as to how this girl had found out his name, because if she knew his name, then she knew what he did for a living, and that would most certainly not be a good thing.

"This should be good," Coco responded, who had introduced herself shortly before this newcomer had entered the room, from outside the room.

She looked down, her face turned red at the question, like she was embarrassed by what Haytham had just asked.

 _Perhaps I said something wrong?_ he wondered to himself, watching as the girl tugged at the hem of her skirt, paused for a brief amount of time before then scowling before letting her hands fall to her sides.

They continued to stare at one another in silence for at least a minute, though it felt like hours for the two of them.

"Well, I think it's about time I leave. I'll see you guys later," Coco said, the two inside the room listened as they heard a pair of footsteps walking away from the room.

"That's the problem right now," the girl responded, "I don't know how to tell you this without... breaking your sanity, but it seems that I must confess the news to you bluntly. Can you assure me that you will not panic at the news?"

"I don't understand," Haytham said, confused as to why this girl was acting this way.

"Just answer the damn question," she responded harshly.

"Yes, I think so," he answered.

"Alright then..." she lowered her head and sighed, then looked at the Templar with an emotionless look, "It's me."

Haytham watched as the girl spread her arms apart, raising them slightly to emphasize to the entirety of her.

"I... what?" he cocked his head to the side, furthermore confused by the girl's strange antics.

"It's me. Shay, Shay Cormac," the girl repeated, watching as the gears continued to turn withing the man's brain.

Meanwhile, from Shay's perspective, the Templar started in his attempt to explain to his other that the 'girl' in front of him was actually the Templar, Shay Patrick Cormac, but he didn't know if the man was convinced.

The man before him was currently dressed in a hospital gown, his clothes had been removed and laundered before being placed in a basket nearby, along with a set of familiar bracers that were not so different to his own. Atop his head was the same tricorn hat that he always wore, the disguised Templar knew that the man was never seen without it; and like his hat, he continued to wear that same ponytail on his head as though he was brought here with it, come to think of it, he probably was recovered and sent to the infirmary in this state.

One other thing was that this Haytham looked much younger. Gone were the grey hairs that he had previously possessed that contrasted with his dark brown hair; now his hair was brighter, maybe evem taking on a sort of luster. The man's face could often be described by the other members of the Order as dull and rugged by his experience of fighting against those that threatened to be rid of the Templars; now his facial features were... sharper, more distinguished. In similar to his face, his eyes were described as tired and aged, yet focused; but now the former's words seemed almost nonexistant. He still wore the ribbon that kept his hair together on the back of his head, but there were still a few locks that fell to the sides of his head, making him appear even more in his youth.

"Heheh," Shay's thoughts came to a halt as he then heard something strange, and it was coming from the man in front of him. The younger Templar looked back down at the elder of the two to see that Haytham was... laughing?

The man's sniggering started out small and quiet, almost unnoticeable until Shay could hear the man giggling loudly from whatever he found funny until it rose to a crescendo into full-blown almost-maniacal laughter.

"Heh... haha hahahahahahaha! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" the man in front of him continued to laugh loudly, tears streaming down Haytham's face as cackles emitted from the man's lungs.

For a second, Shay thought that the two of them both had finally gone mad, because Shay, in any part of his lift, had never heard the man laugh ever in his life. He just assumed that the cold and calculating former Grandmaster of the Templar Order was always serious, yet here he was, laughing and laughing until he was crying out in pure humor.

Shay turned to see several of the infirmary's staff pass by the room and give him these looks as though what they were witnessing was the strangest thing they had ever seen, but they only shook their heads and continued on their way.

Seconds later, the man's laughter began to falter until he stopped almost entirely, letting loose a brief chuckle every now and then.

"Are you finished?" Shay asked, annoyed by the man's reaction. He felt no disrespect towards his old friend, even with one of his previous comments that he had said to the man, but Shay was irritated by his current condition and did not need to be reminded about it with sudden laughter from the other Templar.

"My apologies, miss. I have not done that in a while and you indeed have a rather _vivid_ sense of humor. But again, I asked to see an old associate of mine: a _**Master**_ Cormac," he responded, making Shay silently grit his teeth in annoyance.

But alas, the disguised Templar only sighed, "I know it's difficult to believe, but you have to trust me."

Haytham only crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow upward at the statement, "Prove it."

"What?"

"If you can prove to me that you are indeed Shay, then I will believe you without a doubt," he answered, now waiting for Shay to prove himself.

"Alright then, seems simple enough," Shay said before he cleared his throat, walked closer to the man, and spoke in a low voice, "The Father of Understanding guides us."

He looked at the man's expression, but it was still as cold and emotionless as ever, "That only shows to proves that you are a Templar, but it does not provide any evidence that you are Master Cormac."

Shay inwardly huffed in frustration, surprised that he had expected this. This meant that he had to use a bit more solid proof. So the Templar proceeded to unsheathe his hidden blades from his wrists and displayed them in front of the Templar for him to see.

"So you've killed Assassins and taken their hidden blades as trophies, I too have done the same as well," he responded, turning to look at the bracers that sat atop his clothes inside the basket. Shay merely responded by groaned and facepalmed, sliding his hand down his face as he failed once again to provide more solid proof.

He needed something only the two of them would know, something where others were not in their presence at one point... just what was it?!

"I got it!" Haytham looked up at Shay in confusion, before his expression turned to that of shock as the disguised Templar began to speak.

 _"Colonel Monroe spoke highly of you, Shay. He was convinced that you could become the best among us. I expect you will not disappoint."_

Shay proceeded to stare the second Templar dead in the eye and continued to quote the both of them, _"I don't plan to, sir."_

Haytham continued to stare at him with a mortified expression, "No... that can't be..."

The disguised Templar merely nodded, "Aye, but it is."

"Only Shay and I had that discussion in private, no one else was in our presence!"

"Exactly, Haytham. That's what I am trying to tell you: it's me."

"But-but that's impossible! Shay Patrick Cormac!? How are you-" Haytham began to rise from his bed, only to fall back down after wincing in pain, more than likely from his wounds.

"Like this? Well, my old friend, that is a long story," Shay responded, the former Grandmaster proceeded to fall back onto his bed, thinking about what the newly discovered Templar had just said.

"Well, it seems that we have plenty of time... Shay, and I am willing to listen."

"Perhaps," the two Templars continued to converse, "But I must ask you of something as well."

"Anything, my... **ahem**... _brother_ ," Haytham responded, earning a small irritated huff from the disguised Templar standing in front of him.

"Don't remind me," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"My apologies."

"It's fine. What I was... how did you end up here as well? Do you remember anything before you came to this world?" Shay asked, making sure to close the door beside him so others wouldn't listen in on their conversation.

Haytham looked up in thought, "Not much, the only thing I remembered was... fighting against my own son, the both of us at each other's throats in an attempt to stand victorious over the other, and it was quite literal in my case. I would not let my relations to family blind me from my dedication to our Order and my devotion to protecting Mankind, and just when my goal was complete, my son... Connor, killed me, with one of his blades. After that, all I remember was seeing... terrible things, nightmares and horrors from another world. "

Shay listened to his friend's story to see that Haytham was... actually somber with recounting his latest memory, until he mentioned the last part.

"What horrors do you speak of?" he asked.

"Terrible things, things that would make one shudder and strike fear into one's heart," Haytham explained.

The disguised Templar shook his head at the thought, "Do I really want to know?"

"George Washington... wielding a scepter made from a piece of Eden, declaring himself as King of the Colonial Americas and building a mighty castle out of his own pitiful ego. Controlling the masses of the people in a way that bastardized the beliefs of our Order."

In response to Haytham's answer, Shay cringed at the thought. He was right, that would be an absolutely terrifying sight to see.

"Well, besides that last portion of information, Haytham, I have had a similar experience. When you, and your successor Charles Lee, were declared dead, the Templars had declared me as Grandmaster," he started.

Haytham only nodded in response, "In all honesty, Shay, you would have been my first option as my successor, rather than Charles. But knowing that I had died, and you were in Europe for the time being, his choosing as Grandmaster was a last-second decision."

"Of course. Now, when I had heard about your death, I immediately made my way back to the Colonies and sought out your killer. Little did I know that the man who had killed you was your own son, until we finally met face to face."

"And how did _that_ go?" Haytham quipped, Shay only shook his head.

"He ambushed me with several of his own members, I took them out, sparing them as I knew they would disperse once their leader was dead. Our fight was brief, though it was my age that made my body take it's toll. Your son had finished me off with a blade to my throat."

He watched as the Templar only sniffed sharply, as though in amusement, "Well, Connor always was quite tenacious."

"It seems so," Shay said before hearing a knock at the door, turning his head and responding, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Headmaster Ozpin, "Thank you for waiting for me, Shay."

Haytham watched as Shay merely huffed in amusement, "Was that sarcasm I heard, Professor?"

He turned to see the man grin lightly, walking forward into the room with a cane swing lightly in front of him, "Of course not, what makes you think that. Is that Semblance problem of yours still... malfunctioning?"

Shay nodded, "Aye, I tried and it still hasn't worked. Anything I can do about it?"

 _Semblance?_ Haytham looked at the two in confusion.

Ozpin looked up in thought for a few seconds before placing his hand on the disguised Templar's shoulder, "I think so..."

Haytham then witnessed the two glowing, literally. The man known as 'Ozpin' began to glow in a dark grey luminescence while Shay did the same, only in a mixture of blue and red, though neither mixed to form violet.

The Headmaster finally let go of the Templar, the two stopped glowing as he did so, "Try it now."

Shay nodded and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on his old form with all the willpower he could muster. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was now looking at the Headmaster from eye-level, he looked down to see that he was in his old Templar robes. Haytham's eyes grew wide at the sight, now fully convinced that this was actually his friend. Shay, on the other hand, grinned widely... after so long of trying to solve this problem, Ozpin decides to step in and lend a hand.

"YES! Ha ha! Thank you, Headmaster! Tha- oh... I mean, thank you, Professor," he stopped himself and bowed his head lightly, shaking the man's hand as an amused grin formed on the silver-haired man's face.

"Of course, I _am_ a Professor, and it is our job to assist students whenever it is truly needed; and you seemed to have trouble with it before, I was merely lending some assistance in helping to train your Semblance," Ozpin responded before looking at Haytham, "Now we need to find out what to do with you."

"Me?" Haytham asked, both Ozpin and Shay nodded.

"What did you have in mind, Professor?" Shay asked, turning and walking to a nearby chair before sitting himself down on it.

"He cannot be a student here, as I have already stretched the limit of the number of students with both you and Miss Rose, so that's out of the question. Well, this seems more complicated than I thought," the Headmaster hummed to himself before looking to the Templar, "Shay, may I have a word with you outside?"

Shay looked at him, then turned to Haytham, who still had a shocked expression upon his face, "Of course."

They walked out of the room and closed the door behind them, "Alright then, Ozpin, what is it?"

The Headmaster inhaled sharply and looked at the young man, "Do you know why I enrolled you into Beacon?"

The Templar shook his head.

"Well then, I'll explain. It is because you were dangerous. Not in body, as you lacked an Aura at the time; but in mind, willing to kill those that attempted to stop you in from your purposes while other Huntsmen-in-training strictly follow a code of incapacitation. I believed that it would be a risk to make you a Huntsman, and you have proven even more so when you had killed two White Fang members at the Docks."

Shay only looked away for a second before raising an eyebrow, "What're you trying to say?"

"You have been furthering my proof that you are, in fact, deadly. But, I have spent countless weeks harnessing that fatal efficiency towards fighting the Grimm, and it seems that taking you in as a risk had certainly paid off. But enough of that, all that I am talking about now points towards your associate, this... Haytham Kenway."

"Can you elaborate?" the Templar asked.

"Of course. Like you, we possess no records of him ever existing, like you. After convincing myself for some time that you were from outside the Kingdoms, his arrival here is starting to make me doubt my assumptions, even more so as the two of you appear to know each other. My question, Shay: Is he as dangerous as you?" the Headmaster asked in a grave tone.

His question brought up a distant memory.

 _Upon completing his objective with his fellow Templar, Jack Weeks, Shay returned to Haytham, only to find the Grandmaster pinning a soldier to the wall with both hands._

 _"Where is your boss?" he demanded in a threatening tone, still watching as the man looked at him in fear, who looked at Shay for a split-second before turning back._

 _"I'll never tell! She'll kill me!" he yelled._

 _Shay decided to play along, leaning himself against the side of the building, "If you don't tell, he'll kill you."_

 _The soldier paused for a second and sighed, "She's in that mansion, the one with the gardens."_

 _At first, it appeared as though Haytham would spare the man, but in less than even a second, a blade sprouted from the Grandmaster's wrist and embedded itself into the man's throat, killing him instantly._

 _Shay flinched as blood found itself on his clothes and part of his face, he wiped it off and looked at Haytham in surprise._

 _"Shall we go?" Haytham only said as they departed to the mansion._

Back to the present, Shay looked at the Headmaster before finally answering.

"Yes, even more so, in fact. But compared to me, he is more calm, able to control his emotions more so than I, unless he goes off in a fit of rage, but that rarely happens," Shay answered, knowing of the stories that he had heard about from the other Templars when Haytham had reunited with the traitor, Benjamin Church. From what he had heard, it was not pretty.

"Really? Well in that case, I shall leave him in your care then, since you know more about him than anyone else. Now then, Mister Cormac, what shall we do with him?" he asked.

The Templar was taken aback from this sudden news. Having to take care of Haytham?! What an absurd thought!

"Ahem... well then, I believe that it would be wise to keep him nearby in a separate Dorm. Not as a student, as you have said, but as a temporary stay until we can find out what to do with him," Shay suggested.

"And which team did you have in mind? Know this, Shay, that all the other dorms are taken up, so he is unable to be by himself."

He cursed to himself in realization, having to hastily think of a logical answer. Suddenly, it came to him, "What about Team JNPR?"

"JNPR? And why do you believe that team of students is the best choice?" Ozpin queried, to which Shay answered immediately.

"Besides RWBY, they are the most trustworthy team that I had the honor of knowing. Besides, I believe Ren might be able to keep Nora away from him for the time being until a more permanent solution is found."

Ozpin stared for a few seconds, contemplating his answer before nodding slowly, "Alright then, I will make the arrangements soon. I only trust that you have made the right decision, Shay."

"I don't plan on making the wrong decisions, sir," Shay responded as they walked back into Haytham's room, where the former Grandmaster was waiting for the two of them.

"Well then, Mister Kenway, I believe you are in the most fortunate circumstances," Ozpin said, pulling out a small, orange, medicinal bottle filled with small white pills and handing it to Haytham.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"Pain medication. Your wounds have healed at this rate, but the psychological pain still lingers, take two every three hours to lessen the effects," he informed before turning to Shay, "Now that your friend has fully recovered at this rate. I believe it is best to give him a tour of the Academy," the Headmaster said before walking away.

"So soon?" both Templars responded, stopping Ozpin in mid-step.

He turned to face the two and only said, "There's no time like the present," before walking away.

The two stared for a brief moment before turning to one another.

"So... another world?" Haytham asked, to which Shay nodded grimly. Haytham stared for only a second before popping the lid off the small, orange bottle and swallowing two pills.

"Aye. As Ozpin had said, get dressed and meet me outside of the infirmary," Shay commanded before walking away.

"My word, Shay, since when did you start giving me orders?" Haytham humourously asked in mock surprise.

"Since I was made Grandmaster, you British bastard," Shay grinned and left the room, listening intently as Haytham merely stifled a laugh.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **30 minutes later...**

Shay watched as Haytham quickly bounded towards the Templar, now dressed in his full apparel, complete with the tricorn hat still atop his head. Upon the young man's face held yet another expression of shock.

"We-we're younger again?!" he stuttered at Shay, who nodded in response.

"It happened to me as well when I ended up here. I tend not to think about it," Shay said, "However, I am more curious as to how you ended up here later than I when you died first."

"From what I can tell, time holds no dominion on the afterlife. Young men and women with large weapons, pitch-black monsters, you becoming other people, I am willing to believe anything at this point. So Shay, where are we going?" he asked.

"We are going to the Cafeteria. If I'm correct, the others should be eating lunch anytime now," the Templar answered.

"Others?"

"Yeah, I met and made several friends while I was here. Remember that girl I had been transformed into?" Shay asked, though bitterly due to recent events.

"Of course, is she one of them?"

"Aye, but be warned; they are more... different than those we knew on our world," he explained as they continued to walk towards this 'Cafeteria', heading towards a large section of the vast courtyard, to which Haytham was actually impressed by it's design.

"How so?" Haytham asked.

"Well, there is another species known as..." Shay's voice faltered as he turned to see someone, more than likely the blonde-haired boy with... the monkey tail?

 _My God, it was real,_ Haytham realized, remembering that girl with the rabbit ears.

What was just as strange was the other boy, one who had bright blue hair sprouting from atop his head.

"Nevermind, it seems that you will meet an acquaintance of mine," Shay said before turning to the two boys walking beside one another.

"-and I threw a banana at a guy, which sounds gross but it was awesome!" Sun continued to recount his past adventure to his friend.

"Nice," the blue-haired boy responded.

"Right? And the best part is she's a Faunus," the blonde-haired boy said.

"You're telling secrets now, are you? Sun," Shay stepped into the conversation, with Haytham following behind.

"Uh... hey Shay. Neptune, this is the guy that I told you about. He paid for the food that we brought to her," he said, trying to avoid the accusation, "And that was a secret, okay?"

"Got it. So, this is Shay?" 'Neptune' asked, looking at the man with a perceptive look before nodding and holding out his hand, "He's cool. I'm Neptune Vasilias."

"Shay Cormac," the Templar said, shaking the boy's hand.

"Haytham Kenway," Haytham nodded lightly before listening to the conversation once more.

"And not a 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret! I'm talking 'secret' secret!" Sun accused.

"Woah, chill man, I got it," Neptune reassured, earning a suspicious look from Sun, forcing him to respond again, " _I got it."_

"You better," the monkey Faunus warned, pointing at the boy, who only shrugged it off, "I just don't wanna screw this up, ya know?"

Shay and Haytham turned towards the windows, the other boys were barely aware of the ensuing chaos within, multi-colored substances splattered the glass as well as the interior, while most students were exiting the Cafeteria, others were getting tossed ab- Was that Jaune!?

"Oh good God," Shay muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is this normal?" Haytham asked, watching what was going on within the mess hall.

"Surprisingly... no," the Templar answered.

"Wait a minute... you said Shay was cool?!" the blonde-haired Faunus nearly shouted.

"Yeah, so?"

"It took me months just for me to even be considered 'cool' from your perspective. How come he's immediately cool?!"

Neptune shrugged, "You told a good story and he sounded pretty cool. You even described those awesome-looking robes accurately, that ups the 'cool' status even more."

"Argh... note to self: make my stories a little less detailed," he made a mental note to himelf, "Anyway, the people here are the coolest, no offense to you guys."

"None taken," he responded, the four young men stopped in front of a door.

"Okay, they're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"

"Dude," Neptune only said as he crossed his arms and smiled. For a second, the two Templars swore they saw a flash of light emit from the boy's perfectly white teeth.

 _What an odd choice of words,_ Haytham thought to himself, noticing the words they used in their dialogue, but he thought past it.

"Good point," Sun replied.

Before they passed through the door, Shay had only one thought on his mind: _Please don't be doing anything crazy, please don't be doing anything crazy, please don't be doing anything crazy!_

The four walked through the door, the other three almost felt a strange feeling around them, unknowing that it was Shay that was producing this feeling, while Shay had felt it the most: it was his heart breaking as Luck decided to appear to him at it's worst.

"FOOD FIGHT!" the students chanted as they immediately bolted out of the Cafeteria, fearing for their very lives from the sight behind them.

Sun Wukong, Neptune Vasilias, Haytham Kenway, and Shay Patrick Cormac stared at the sight before their very eyes.

From across the room, a vast multitude of tables were stacked up to form a rudimentary fort, barricaded by soda machines and other tables acting as cover. The rest of the place had tables strew towards the sides as though taking the appearance of a battlefield with the exception of a long line of tables in the middle.

And at the top of the fort was none other than Nora Valkyrie herself, with Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, and Lie Ren at the lower levels.

" _~I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE! I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!_ " she chanted, her voice taking a near-maniacal tone.

 _What-_

At the other end stood Team RWBY, their leader standing on top of a table. A milk carton in her right hand while pointing accusingly at them with the other.

"JUSTICE WILL BE SWIFT!-"

 _The-_

"JUSTICE WILL BE PAINFUL!-" she crushed the milk carton in her hand

 _Actual-_

"IT WILL BE **DELICIOUS**!" she shouted and raised her hand up towards the sky to signal their attack, while the girls behind her gave off a loud battle cry.

 _FUCK?!_

"Off with their heads!" Nora commanded loudly as she stepped off of her fort, the opposing teams began their assault upon one another.

Sun continued to smile, Haytham and Neptune continued to watch in a mixture of surprise and shock.

Shay? He merely facepalmed, with both of his hands digging into face, groaning loudly in irritation.

He absolutely hated Mondays, especially when it was the start of a new semester.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: And finished! Sorry if I'm a little late, but I guess this makes up for it!**

 **Before you guys ask: no, Haytham will not be a Student of Beacon Academy, his stay with Team JNPR in the future is only temporary. No, I have bigger plans for him (rubs hands together evilly.**

 **Also, Haytham does not have a perfectly clear understanding of Aura (obviously) as it was never explained to him and also because he currently lacks one (also obvious).**

 **It seems that this story was added to a community now, the "RWBY No Yuri No Yaoi' section. And I've got four (or three, it depends) words for that: You're goddamn right. (No offense to any Yuri or Yaoi fans, but I'm just not good at writing things like that.)**

 **Lastly, check out some of my other stories and let me know what you think of them as well (*Points to Review option. Hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge*.**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter, and as always: Stay beautiful ladies and gents.**

 **PS: (Sighs) Since it's inevitable anyway, hit me with the best possible Haytham Ships you guys got! (Spreads arms apart and awaits for the inevitable assault.)**


	16. Chapter 16: Baphomet

**Q &A: **

**Main** **e** **Meta: Too late to go back now. Besides, I regret nothing!**

 **Reader:** **I might include omakes if it's necessary.**

 **Zone-Meister: Okay then... cool. And thank you. **

**Cz** **ar** **Joseph: *Serves next chapter* HERE YOU GO!**

 **Ciphe** **r** **96: How? I don't see how anyone could stop an event of that scale. Besides, Haytham probably went into shock from the sheer intensity of the fight. **

**Z2010Deadmeat:** **As a Templar for most of his life, Haytham would go with what he felt was most like the Templars: maintaining peace through order. He would never want to find himself involved in something that would tear apart mankind.**

 **Jugoku no Yami:** **Of course, may the Father of Understanding guide us all.**

 **Kerlongsj Ev** **ert** **Orlejov: Yeah, he will... as soon as his brain resets itself. **

**ARSLOTHES:** **Thank you.**

 **Cheese PuffXx:** **Um... what?**

 **Sharp121shooter:** **Well if you guys are going to make shipping names, at least be a bit more... creative. "Bloodcoffee" can be interpreted in many different definitions, especially for perverts with a deviously clever mind (like me!).**

 **Lubbock1: Will now work?**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Love the positive reviews, thank you very much.**

 **Damn, those ships you guys sent were pretty fast if you ask me.**

 **Also, before the story starts, I want to explain the differences in the dialogue I use: assassin and Assassin; the lower-cased word "assassin" in this story, refers to a man or woman who simply kills for a specific reason (either for religious or political reasons, or just for money) while the upper-cased word "Assassin" refers to a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. Just wanted to explain the difference before I start the next chapter.**

 **Now let's dive back into the story once more, onwards!**

 **PS: If you have any ideas for this story, be sure to PM me.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed**

 _May the Father of Understanding guide us..._

* * *

 **Vale  
12:30 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

It was a sunny day in Vale, the citizens of this great Kingdom were casually strolling about the city. Some were busy getting on with their lives, while others were eager for the upcoming Vytal Festival, _especially_ the upcoming battles that would come in the Amity Colosseum.

Unbeknownst to these citizens, they just now took notice of the airship flying ominously above the city. Presumably, a guest from outside Vale was coming to visit, but the real question was: who?

Besides the new foreign airship that had now entered Vale, or the upcoming Festival that had marked the end of a terrible and bloody war, another event had occurred in the city as well.

 _From Dust Till Dawn_ was finally re-opening, after an unfortunate incident involving a robbery and the presence of the notorious criminal, Roman Torchwick. The Shopkeeper himself was balanced atop a ladder, trying to finish with putting up the sign that showed that there was a re-opening.

Once the final touches were placed on the banner, he began to climb down the ladder and onto the ground, well, at least that's what _would've_ happened.

"Oof!" the man grunted as he fell in mid-step onto the ground. The Shopkeeper shook his head from the disorientation and looked up at the person who had caused this accident.

"Excuse me! Sorry," a dark-skinned girl with red eyes and pale green hair atop her head apologized, "I'm not really from around here."

She held out her hand, to which the old man accepted. After the girl assisted in helping the man to his feet, she pulled out a small slip of paper with scribbled writing on it.

"Um, would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" she asked.

 _ **'282 27th Street,'**_ the card read. This street in particular lead to a variety of different shops, one of which was Tukson's Book Trade.

The old man merely smiled and nodded, much to the the girl's delight.

On the other hand, from a distance, a young man with grey hair adorned with clothing of the same color scheme leaned against a brick wall, waiting for the girl that was talking with the old Shopkeeper. He looked up as soon as he heard footsteps approaching before finally watching the girl pass by.

"I knew you were lost," he said with a smirk on his face. In response, the girl turned around and faced the boy, holding out a wallet.

"Mercury," she growled, "I will seriously pay you to shut up."

The boy known as Mercury merely shook his head, "That's not your money."

"But it could be yours for five minutes of silence," the girl attempted to persuade the young man, who looked up in thought for only a few seconds.

"Mmm... no deal," he shook his head, grinning inwardly at the girl's frustration before she retracted the small wallet filled with Lien.

"Hmph, fine," she gave up, removing the small quantity of currency from the stolen wallet before tossing it onto the ground, leaving while Mercury pushed himself off the wall and began to follow behind the girl.

"Whatever, you want me," Mercury laughed, picking up the pace with the girl before he was finally walking side-by-side with her.

"You wish," the green-haired girl scoffed at the boy's attempt at teasing her, "So, is our... friend here yet?"

The grey-haired boy merely grimaced at the mention of who she was talking about, "No, he hasn't shown himself yet. What do you think of him?"

"Well, if-" she stopped herself, afraid that someone could be listening to their conversation, "-our leader trusts him, at least to an extent, then I see no reason why I shouldn't work alongside him. You?"

"I don't trust that **pet** of hers. He's got that feeling of... emptiness to him. Ugh, like his entire presence is just trying to suck out your soul. I don't care if she decided to have us with him, and that I'm forced to play along, I refuse to actually get used to the guy," Mercury answered as they continued to walk down the sidewalk.

"Eh, suit yourself," the girl beside him shrugged and continued to walk onward.

"So, how much farther?" the boy asked, who had decided to change the subject.

"A few blocks," she responded.

"This place is so dull," Mercury groaned as they proceeded to walk more and more.

"Meh, I kinda like it. Tall buildings, diverse culture-"

"-And nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket," he finished.

"That's every city," Mercury watched as the girl beside him stopped and stared coldly at him.

"Oh, Emerald! Master Thief, please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!" he exclaimed before dropping down in mock sadness, listening as Emerald only growled in response as she walked away from the young man, "You're no fun today."

As soon as they came across their location, they stopped. Emerald pulled out her Scroll and checked the time.

"Dammit, he's still not here," she sighed before putting away her device.

"Good, we can do this without him," Mercury shrugged as they then walked inside, unaware of the figure looming behind them from across the street.

Once both Emerald and Mercury entered the room, they heard humming resonate from behind a door. Mercury only shrugged and went back to look at the books near the front, while Emerald decided to walk forward and press a small bell on the counter.

"Be right there!" a voice exclaimed from behind the door. Immediately after, a man carrying a large quantity of books in both hands emerged from behind the doors. The owner of the book store had short black hair with dark yellow eyes, as well as wearing a dark reddish-brown coat over a white shirt.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade: home to every book under the sun," he said before putting down the books and walking back to face the girl, "How may... uh..."

Tukson looked at the girl and immediately knew that something was off, but he decided to proceed anyway, watching as the young woman only smiled innocently, "How may I help you?"

"Just browsin'!" Mercury called out from across the room. Emerald, on the other hand, had something else in mind.

"Actually, I was wondering, do you have any copies of _'The Thief and the Butcher'_?" she asked, leaning closer onto the counter.

"Yes, we do," he confirmed.

"That's great!" Emerald exclaimed.

"Would you... like a copy?" Tukson asked, watching as the girl only shook her head.

"No, just wondering."

 ***Slam!***

They turned to see Mercury slamming a book shut, realization then came to Emerald.

"Oh, oh! What about, _'Violet's Garden'_ in paperback?" she asked again.

"He's got it," Mercury answered, "Hardback too."

"Ooh, options are nice," Emerald lifted a finger to her chin in thought.

"Eh, no pictures," the silver-haired boy responded in a bored tone before roughly closing that book as well, "Hey! You got any comics?"

"Near the front," Tukson responded, looking at the young man before turning his attention to the girl.

"Oh! No wait. What about... _'Third Crusade'_?" the man blinked in surprise at her request.

"Umm..." was all he could say, "I... don't believe we carry that one."

 ***Slam!***

Mercury closed another book, giving the man an odd look, "Oh."

"What was this place called again?" the green-haired girl asked, awaiting an answer from the owner of the book store.

"Tukson's Book Trade," he answered.

"And you're Tukson?" Emerald proceeded to ask Tukson more questions, inquisitive to see the man's response to her inquiries.

"That's right," the man nodded.

"So then I take it that you're the one who came up with the catchphrase?"

"Yes."

"And what was it again?" Mercury now decided to get involved with the conversation the two in front of him were having.

The man only sighed, "Tukson's Book Trade: Home to every book under the sun."

" _Except_ the _'Third Crusade'_ ," Mercury literally pointed out, holding a finger out towards the man as he singled out a flaw in his catchphrase.

"It's just a catchphrase."

"It's false advertising," he accused before Emerald then looked up at the taller man.

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson," as Emerald continued to converse with the man, Mercury began to dim the lights and darken the windows so nobody would get a glimpse of what was going on, "I hear you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo. Your brothers in the White Fang wouldn't be happy to hear that."

Mercury darkened the last light with a twitch of his finger, "And neither are we."

They both faced the man with accusing looks, "You know who we are, don't you?"

Much to Tukson's dismay, he did; he knew what they did, and what they were going to do to him, "Yes."

"And you know why we're here?"

"Yes," he lowered his head in anticipation.

Mercury walked closer to Emerald, "So... are you going to fight back?"

The three inside the book store stood in silence for only a matter of seconds, but the Faunus in front of the two, it seemed like hours. Tukson knew he wouldn't survive this encounter, but he would be damned if he didn't take them with him.

With his eyes widened and his teeth showing, he answered, "Ye-"

Or at least, he hoped he would.

 ***Ka-chink!*** went the sound of a blade.

Tukson gasped sharply and froze as he felt something embed itself into his back, then came a sharp, stinging pain. He looked back at the two assassins in front of him, the girl held a bewildered look on her face, while the boy only scowled at what was behind the Faunus.

Emerald and Mercury watched as the man slumped forward onto the counter, light fading from his eyes. They then looked up at his assailant, the one who was meant to meet them here.

"Am I too late?" he looked at the both of them with a smile that dripped completely with sadism, removing the bloodied, serated blade from the man's back and sheathing back into the bracer on his wrist. In his other hand, a book was held in his grasp.

Mercury glared at the man, watching as those malevolent, glowing orange-yellow eyes looked at the both of them, as though he was predator, tracking it's prey.

Emerald coughed into her fist, trying to break the awkward silence, "Baphomet."

"Miss Sustrai," he bowed his head lightly, looking down at the recent corpse in front of him. He frowned as he traced a gloved finger down the dead man's jaw, "Another failed attempt, how... frustrating."

They couldn't tell which was worse, that... thing talking to them, or having to listen to him mumbling to himself about his 'projects'.

"How'd you get in here anyway?" Emerald asked.

"There's a back door to this place. It's surprising how the owner of this shop had an exit in which he could escape, yet he failed to use it," Baph mused, looking at the body once more, "Oh well."

"Hey freak, are you finished with fondling that corpse of yours?" Mercury shot at the human Grimm.

"Freak, you say? Says the only surviving member of a family of assassins. If anything, your allegiance would be as peculiar as myself," Baphomet placed a hand to his own chest as he referred to himself, earning a growl in frustration from the boy.

That was something else Mercury hated about this entity in front of him was the fact that he knew almost every little secret about everyone around him, it was extremely uncomfortable when there's someone who knows a lot about you while you know next to nothing about said someone.

"Listen here-" Mercury walked over to the man with look of rage in his eyes

"Both of you, shut up!" Emerald walked between the two and put her arms between them to separate the two of them, though it was only Mercury that was being hostile; Baphomet, on the other hand, was only aggravating him.

At her immediate request, they did, much to Emerald's surprise. She only let out a sigh and looked at the orange-eyed 'man', "Let's just... let's just get out of here..."

"Sure thing, Em," Mercury said, grabbing a book and opening the door.

"Of course, Miss Sustrai," the other man agreed as color began to appear from the man's usual grey-tan skin, with the irises of his eyes stopped glowing, and the jaundiced look in his eyes paled until they turned white, making him appear completely human. He then proceeded by following closely behind the two as they walked out of the shop.

Emerald stretched her arms over her head, while both Mercury and Baphomet read from their books.

"What's with those?" she looked at the two of them.

"I like the pictures," Mercury answered, not even bothering to look up at her.

"Story's interesting," the human Grimm responded, turning a page to prove his point.

"What are you reading anyways?" Emerald leaned over and looked at the book, to which the creature-in-disguise responded by turning over the book.

On the front of the hard-covered book was two words: _Third Crusade._

"I stole the book before Tukson could check inventory," Baphomet said in a casual, yet bored tone.

"Seriously?" Emerald looked at him with a cold look.

"Yes, it made your... act seem more believable. Who knows what would've happened if he did have knowledge of possessing the book. It would be rather awkward," he flicked his eyes up before closing the book, "Nevertheless, I would call this mission a success."

They watched as he picked up the pace and turned and walked towards an alleyway. As soon as that happened, Emerald and Mercury sped up their walking speed, pushing past some citizens of Vale, who were giving the two odd looks. As soon as they looked at the alleyway, which just so happened to have a dead end, Baphomet was gone, like he was never there to begin with.

"Gone again, most likely going to tell the boss where we've been," Mercury said, looking at the place where the disguised monster originally had been, "Anyways, let's get going before Cinder loses her temper."

"I still don't know how he does that," Emerald replied, "That disappearing act he always pulls off."

"Don't try to think about it, it'll only give you a bunch of headaches. Trust me."

The green-haired girl only frowned slightly before nodding her head and walking away with the young man beside her.

"Alright then, what now?" Emerald asked as they proceeded to walk down the street once more.

"I dunno. Hey! I found a a fancy restaurant that we could-"

"Not happening," she deadpanned, crossing her arms and glaring at the silver-haired boy.

"Dammit."

 **-May the Father of Understanding Guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy, Cafeteria  
1:00 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"JUSTICE WILL BE SWIFT! JUSTICE WILL BE PAINFUL!-" Ruby then crushed a milk carton in her hands as she pointed at the team opposite of them.

"-IT WILL BE **DELICIOUS**!" she screamed as the rest of her team appeared behind her.

" **YEAH!** " they yelled as a thundering battle cry.

 _Jesus Christ..._ Shay slowly brought his hand to his face in an attempt to cover it, but the scene that unfolded was too shocking, so caught off guard, it was as though he was being forced to watch by some unseen eldritch force (He had to wonder for a second if Pluto was actually involved in all this insanity).

Sun, on the other hand, continued to hold a ridiculous-looking grin as they watched the fight begin to start.

As for Haytham? He had absolutely no idea what he was looking at. The same could be said for the monkey-tailed boy's friend: Neptune.

"Off with their heads!" Nora commanded in a loud, authoritative voice as she jumped off the makeshift 'castle' and started launching a barrage of watermelons at the opposing team, followed by the rest of hers doing the same alongside.

The fours' attention was then turned to Team RWBY in which their leader, Ruby, had given an order of her own, "Yang! Turkey!"

The blonde-haired sister nodded and slammed her hands into a pair of roasted turkeys. An entire, intact pair of roasted turkeys! She followed up by slamming the two together in a near-ear shattering slam before sprinting towards the thrown volley of green-skinned fruit, unleashing an equally devastating barrage of punches, shattering and splattering the red, fruity material all over the cafeteria.

Blake, the raven-haired Faunus in disguise, leapt over her, grabbing a pair of (French?) baguettes and began assisting Yang in the fight against these oversized, murderous, fruit cannonballs; to which Yang leaped over her as well, let loose another set of shattering punches before ejecting the roasted poultry towards two members of the opposing teams. Unfortunately for the leader of Team JNPR, Pyrrha rolled out of the way only for the two turkeys to make innard-rupturing contact with his torso and face (luckily he had Aura to save his life), much to both the knight's misfortune and the Templar's displeasure.

Shay did assist in training the young man, so he was partially involved with this in a way. But he had to excuse Jaune for this action; he certainly did not prepare him for a scenario involving being killed by his own meal.

As Jaune was launched backwards, Pyrrha looked up to see Blake leap down and stab at the red-haired girl, forcing her to jump backwards, to which she then retaliated with a downward strike to the amber-eyed student.

Both Blake and Pyrrha stared at one another in what Shay could consider to be the most dramatic, rage-filled expressions ever given to two sentient beings.

It wasn't until Pyrrha broke this locked stale-mate, (pun intended; as this was Shay's regards to Yang) and swung at Blake, who used her Semblance to propel herself into the air, leap over the Spartaness, and deliver a set of offensive swings while dodging some of the Invicible Girl's own strikes with a series of backflips and uses of her Semblance before launching herself into the air once more and throwing the spear-like bread weapon at Pyrrha, snapping it in half. Pyrrha retaliated by leaping out of the way of the bread's vicinity, rushing forward with a successful stab, and throwing her own baguette in a spear-like fashion.

The bread would've made contact with the already flying Blake, were it not countered by a punch from the blonde-haired boxer: Yang, who also took the blow from a second (French?) bread.

As both girl's flew backwards, Ruby followed up by literally sliding across the lunch table using only a metal tray. The red-haired leader then proceeded to jump into the air and hit another baguette back at the second red-haired girl, which she rolled out of the way from. Ruby landed back on the table and continued to slide across it until she reached Pyrrha, where she then threw herself at, tray-first into. Pyrrha blocked the attack, but it had sent her flying onto her back.

Upon the Invincible Girl's temporary defeat, the next two: Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, were next into the fight.

Shay had to admit, this bout of attacks exchanged between one another seemed frighteningly coordinated. And since the young man was not involved in this in any way at all, it seemed unnecessary to step into the fight and instead just watch.

As soon as the two stepped into this food-battle, Ruby jumped out of the way to reveal Weiss, holding a bottle of... ketchup? Indeed so, which she then aimed downward and fired the red substance onto the floor as though it was her weapon, _Myrtenaster_. Upon releasing the tomato-based paste, a red wave of the stuff was unleashed, creating a slippery mess that Ren was unfortunate enough to slip in, slide, and crash into a barricade of wrecked tables, further destroying them even more.

Nora was fast enough to leap into the set of flying tables and grab ahold of a pole, stab it into a vacant watermelon, and wield as though it was her original weapon. The electrically energetic girl swung her giant watermelon mallet at the white-haired Heiress, only for the blow to be absorbed by Ruby's Aura. Weiss rolled out of the way just in time to grab a swordfish and stab at the girl with the fish's rapier-like front.

It took a second for the Templar to wonder what a swordfish was doing in a cafeteria, but the man decided to leave that thought for another day, knowing that he has witnessed more stranger things, so he continued to watch the fight anyway, still standing there like a dumbfounded man who had just discovered the Holy Grail.

The orange-haired girl of Team JNPR was launched backwards by the strike, but quickly recovered and jumped back into the fight, spinning the makeshift hammer to throw Weiss off-guard before launching a devastating strike into the girl's abdomen, creating an ear-ringing hit that sent the Heiress crashing into a pillar on the other side of the room. As she began to fall, she was suddenly caught by Ruby, who was now holding her in her arms.

"Weiss? Weiss! Don't leave me!" she screamed to the (unconscious?) girl as the pillar finally crashed into the ground, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Yang rushed passed the two as this occurred, reaching for the turkeys to use as replacements for her gauntlets while Ren reached for a pair of leeks. The two charged at one another with Yang throwing a high kick while Ren blocked with his vegetable batons. The two began to the fight with Ren gaining the upper hand at striking first, but he was too slow as Yang began to quicken her punches before sending a downward swing into the back of his head and launching him upwards into the air.

Ren recovered in midair and flipped himself, throwing the two greens at her. Yang retaliated by dodging the attacks, launching herself up into the air, and sending another blow into the man, this time sending him crashing into the ground, which would have formed a small, Ren-sized crater, were it not for the table and the food, cushioning his fall upon impact.

Upon his defeat, Nora sprang into action and threw herself into the fight against the blonde-haired girl. She slammed her makeshift hammer downward, forcing Yang to backstep away from the attack before they both attack at the same time. With Yang throwing a punch, while Nora prepared for an upward strike. Although it seemed that both would connect at the same time, this was not the case, as Nora was just a split-second quicker, leading to a yellow-haired girl suddenly disappearing through the roof of the cafeteria.

The hammer-wielding girl was suddenly thrown back as Blake found a new weapon: a long chain of sausage links that somehow managed to function as a whip. This attack sent Nora into a vending machine, which was now dropping several cans of soda. She took this opportunity to now launch these cans at the girl, forcing Blake to dodge the soda-filled containers as they exploded on impact, sending a spray of the sugary liquid across the floors of the cafeteria.

The Templars, as well as Sun and Neptune, then watched in shock as Pyrrha had the sudden idea to use her Semblance, with dozens, if not, hundreds of cans strewn about the place. Her Polarity Semblance, combined with the presence of metallic material, would prove to be devastating for Team RWBY, or more specifically: Blake.

Pyrrha wasted no time in aiming the tidal wave of soda cans at the girl, watching as she stumbled and flew back as they continued to mercilessly assault her, sending her into a wall, then throwing her towards the other side of the room, where she finally fell, defeated.

But it was not over, there was still Ruby, who was now looking at the Team, who's members were still standing, with a vengeful and determined look on her face. She knelt down from the other side of the room and rushed towards them furiously with the use of her Semblance, which was dragging along the debris that had been formed in the continuing fight.

Team JNPR started to witness the red-haired leader's Semblance's effects. Ruby, who was now closing the distance between her and the opposite team, let out a shrill battle cry and began to spin in a corkscrew-like fashion as she rushed past Team JNPR, who were now swept away in the maelstrom of broken tables, food, and soda cans. The leader of Team RWBY suddenly came to a stop as she reached the other side of the cafeteria, the sheer suddenness of her stopping formed a concussive blast that created a large crater in one of the walls, where the opposing team was then stuck to as Ruby then leaped out of the way.

Immediately, the team was then assaulted by the sheer force and numbers of silverware, glassware, food, broken pieces of tables, soda cans, and many unmentionable things until it all came to a stop. Ruby then landed on the other side of the carnage while Team JNPR began to slide off of the wall and fell onto the floor as they were now covered in a multi-colored mess.

"I love these guys," Sun only said as he turned to look at the others beside him. Neptune was covered in a purple mess of what appeared to be soda, Shay was physically untouched by the fight that had just finished, while his brain was doing it's best to process what just happened in the last three minutes; while Haytham looked like he was suffering from total brain failure himself, as he stood stiffly at the scene with his mouth slightly open.

Shay almost felt sorry for Haytham, as he was a man who was fiercely dedicated to an Order that sought out... well, order. And what he was looking at was chaos in it's rawest form: disorder created by mere children.

What interrupted the four mens' thoughts was the sound of a very, _very_ angry Professor Glynda Goodwitch barging into the room, who was sporting a furious scowl on her face as she raised the riding crop in her hand to block an oncoming combination of plates and food. She then proceeded to rebuild the entire cafeteria in a single stroke; tables began to reform themselves as they were then moved back into rows upon rows, plates and trays fixed themselves and were moved to their original locations, while all other trash and half-eaten/wielded food was properly disposed of. All of this with just a flick of her riding crop.

"Children, please," she tried to talk in the most polite tone possible without bursting into a fit of rage, "Do not play with your food."

They then looked at the food-covered students that had caused the dilemma in the first place, with both teams facing one another on opposite tables. Literally a second later, they then heard the sound of the roof crumbling as Yang finally impacted with the floor at an earth-shattering speed, only for her to then get up and laugh alongside her teammates.

Shay heard the sound of footsteps, he turned to see that it actually belonged to two sources: Ozpin entering the cafeteria in a calm demeanor, and the other being Haytham exiting the cafeteria in a stiff, awkward walk.

"Let it go," Ozpin said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.

Professor Goodwitch only sighed, "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be," he explained, "But right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part. It isn't a role they'll play forever."

Ozpin walked towards the group of people opposite of Team RWBY, "Team JNPR, if you could please meet me in my office, I have something to discuss with the four of you."

"B-but, what about Team RWB-"

"This has nothing to do with the events that have recently transpired, Mister Arc; it involves a temporary change to your team," the Headmaster explained, looking at the four food-covered individuals with a concerned expression, "But before you do, _please_ clean yourselves up before you see me."

"Of course, Headmaster," Pyrrha nodded before following Jaune and the rest of the team as they proceeded to leave the building.

After Haytham pushed through the door and exited the cafeteria, the younger of the two followed after him. Shay watched as Haytham then leaned against one of the decorative stands that stood outside of the building. His eyes widened and out of focus and his face was pale from the scene that had unfolded for him.

"Haytham? Are you alright?" the younger Templar asked out of concern for his former elder.

"Just... give me a moment, Shay," he breathed out before finally standing up straight and looking at the young man in front of him, "What... was that?"

Shay merely shook his head and leaned on the stand beside Haytham, "I too have wondered about that for a very long time, Haytham. From what we already know, we are on another wor-"

He stopped in mid-sentence as Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch, as well as Team JNPR exited the cafeteria and passed by the two, the messy four stared at the pair of Templars with curious looks before quickening their pace towards their dorm.

The younger of the two sighed before looking at Haytham again, "We're on another world. And from what I can tell, this is the future, compared to our own."

"How is God's name have you managed to live in a world like this?" Haytham gave the Assassin Hunter an incredulous stare.

Shay chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "I try not to think about it."

"Bastard luck is what I call it," Haytham amusingly muttered.

"I told you, Haytham, I make-"

"You make your own luck, I get it," the man cut off Shay's motto, giving the Templar a slight grin as he crossed his arms, "So, should I be ready to meet these new partners of yours officially?"

"That wasn't official?"

"It hardly qualifies as an introduction," Haytham snapped, "Perhaps when I have finally processed that previous bout of insanity, I'll introduce myself."

"So, during dinner then?" Shay suggested.

"If the same activities do not happen again, then yes," he nodded.

"I can't make any promises on that, Haytham. These friends of mine are very... full of energy."

"That is a _**very**_ light term to describe your friends," there was a brief and very awkward silence as Shay knew that Haytham was not wrong.

The silence lasted for only a few seconds before Shay finally coughed into his fist awkwardly, "So... until then."

Shay held out his hand, which Haytham accepted by shaking firmly, "Of course. In the meantime, I think it is best that I familiarize myself with this prestigious academy."

"Sure thing, I'll see you later," the younger Templar nodded as Haytham sharply turned on his heels and began walking towards the main building of Beacon.

And with the conversation finished, he walked back into the lunch room to greet his team members, who were still laughing and joking as they sat on the newly reformed lunch tables.

"SHAAAAAY!" Shay heard a shrill scream as he was suddenly tackled by a red and black blur, causing him to stumble back as said blur slammed into him at full forced, the only thing protecting him was his Aura.

 _Jesus Christ..._ he groaned inwardly as the leader of Team RWBY tackled him in an ecstatic bear hug.

"Hello, Miss Rose," the young man ruffled her hair slightly as she then let go of him.

"Ugh, Shay! Just call me Ruby, you're making me feel old," she pouted at him. Throughout the whole school semester, he has only referred to her as 'Ruby' on a few occasions. All the other times it was 'Miss Rose' or 'Ma'am', or even 'Little Miss' for goodness sakes. If she didn't know any better, she'd assume that he was doing this to bug her.

"Shay," he heard a neutral voice next to him say. He turned to see that it was Blake, holding a small grin on her face.

"Blake," Shay responded back at the girl, as well as giving the girl a small nod.

"Hey, big guy! How are ya?" he was then greeted by Yang, who had wrapped an arm around the larger man's shoulder. Off to the side, Weiss was glaring at the girl due to her current action.

"Well, first off, I'm back to normal," the Templar gestured to himself, causing the blonde-haired girl to smile even wider.

"I can tell. Hey Weiss! What do you think of our hunk of testosterone here now back in his tall, dark, and handsome self?" she wiggled her eyebrows at the Heiress, who only scoffed at her inference.

"Keep your promiscuous thoughts to yourself, Xiao Long," she shot at the girl, who only grinned and raised her arms in faux defeat as she took as step away from the two.

"Hello, Miss Schnee," he greeted, bowing slightly as he held out his hand, to which the Heiress formally received. This was where it went downhill for Weiss, as she watched in (at least for her) slow motion as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed out of respect. Like a proper gentleman.

Like a proper gentleman, however, in front of the rest of Team RWBY. In front of three other girls who were now watching as the white-haired girl blushed wildly from what should've been a small respectful gesture, though she was taking it as though it was the end of the world for her.

The other girls had their own thoughts.

 _OH MY GOSH!_ Ruby immediately thought in excitement.

 _I knew it,_ Blake followed up, an amused grin on her face.

 _I'm shipping this so hard right now!_ Yang finally thought with an evil smile as the young man finally released her hand before turning to the rest of the group. While Weiss continued to remain frozen stiff from the action while her cheeks continued to remain with a red hue.

"So what happened here?" Shay asked the four, taking a seat on one of the tables as he awaited an answer from one of them.

"Well, what happened was-" Weiss was about to say.

"WhathappenedwasthatIhadthisbigplanforallthisstuffthatweweregoingtodountilsomeone(notsayingwho)decidedtothrowapieatWeiss'face,startingahugefightthatseemedunnecessarynowthatIthinkaboutit!" Ruby immediately in just a single breath before gasping loudly for air.

It took only a few seconds for Shay to process what exactly the girl had said, "So this all started with Nora throwing a pie at Weiss' face?"

"Yeah, basically- wait a minute, how did you know it was Nora?" Blake asked, curious as to how he figured it out.

She was met with an expressionless look from the man, "Who else could it have been?"

"...Good point," the Faunus responded, surprised by how simple the answer was... and then proceeded to mentally hit herself for how simple his answer was.

"Who was that guy?" Shay heard Yang ask.

"Sorry, what?"

"That guy beside you. Y'know? Dressed in blue, the tricorn, that handsome face of his," Yang described the man.

"He's a friend of mine, outside of the Kingdoms as well," he lied, earning a cocked eyebrow from Blake.

"There's more of you? Where do you guys come from?"

"It's a long story," Shay answered, then proceeded to talk more before anyone could ask a question, "Now, what say we get back to our dorm, I believe that lunch is already over."

"Yeah, we know," Yang deadpanned at his comment, gesturing to themselves as they were still covered in a collection of different uneaten lunches.

"Let's just go before this starts to smell," Weiss wisely suggested before leaving the cafeteria and heading for their dorm.

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 **Vale, Unknown Warehouse  
11:25 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

It was almost the dead of night. Mercury and Emerald had now just returned to their base of operations, where they witnessed dozens of members of the White Fang unloading crates of weapons, Dust, and all sorts of things needed in a revolution.

It wasn't until they happened to come across a certain ginger-haired criminal inspecting a map of Vale.

"Oh look! She sent the kids again," Roman Torchwick remarked as he strode towards the two before wrapping his arms around the both of them, "This is turning out just like the divorce."

"Ugh... spare us the thought of you procreating," Emerald grimaced at the man, unknown to the fact that the man had just stolen something from her pocket.

"That was a joke, and this... just might tell me where you two have been all day," he said, holding the slip of paper out for all to see.

"What!?" the green-haired girl exclaimed as she dove for her pockets, confirming that the criminal had in fact stolen that small piece of information right out of her pocket.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something..." he looked down at the slip of paper before looking back at them, "Why do you have this address?"

She pointed accusingly at the man, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would. Now, where have you been all day?"

"Cleaning up your problems," Mercury snapped at the man, "One of them, at least."

Roman shot the boy an angry glare, "I had that under control."

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise," the delinquent rebutted before the older criminal pointed a finger at him.

"Listen, you little punk. If it were up to me, I would take you and your little street rat here and I would-"

"Do what, Roman?" a sultry, feminine voice echoed. The three criminals looked up to see a young woman with blazing orange eyes and ash-black hair, wearing a short, red dress, standing above them on a platform.

The woman walked over to a lift and waited as it finally lowered her down to ground level.

"I'd uh... not kill them?" Roman guessed as the woman strode closer to them.

"Cinder!" Emerald said in an eager voice, while Mercury only nodded to their leader.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway," she said to the man.

"I was going to!"

"He was going to escape to Vacuo. Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat," Emerald explained.

"I think he was some sort of cat, actually," Mercury said, looking up in thought.

"What, like a puma?"

"Yeah, there you go. Anyways, we _would've_ gotten the job done if it wasn't for your pet," the silver-haired boy scowled at the mention of Cinder's third associate.

"Quiet," she spoke, "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

"I just thought-"

"Don't think. Obey," Cinder commanded, watching as Emerald then lowered her head in embarrassment.

"...Yes ma'am. It won't happen again."

"Good, now that you mention it, where is the newest addition to our plan?" she asked before they all turned at the sound of a scream.

They watched as the screams turned to that of suppressed gunfire as several White Fang troops began to retreat deeper into the warehouse.

"Get away! He's a monster!" was some of the many things they screamed as they continued to fire their weapons at the unknown enemy before closing the doors on whatever was now behind them.

"Oh, what now!" Roman yelled.

"We don't know, he just suddenly appeared and started murdering our troops," one of the White Fang soldiers explained, his hands trembling as he held onto his rifle.

"'He'? As in one guys? Can't you animals handle this?!" the criminal spat at them before turning towards the barricaded door.

Roman lifted his cane to aim at the door, Emerald made a reach for her sickle-kusarigama crossed weapons, Mercury raised his arms into a fighting stance, while Cinder just raised an eyebrow at the dilemma and grinned slightly.

The orange-eyed woman only watched as a dark figure dropped down from the roof and landed in the center of the four, a serrated combat knife held in the figure's grip.

Roman was the first to act as he aimed his cane to fire at the dark-robed figure, only to miss and instead hit Mercury at point-blank range as the attacker ducked, sending the silver-haired boy into a stack of wooden boxes. Emerald reached for her weapons and let loose several shots at the assailant, only to watch as the figure zigzagged through the barrage of gunfire, quickly wrench the weapons out of her hand, and kick her away with a boot to the chest.

The hooded figure turned to see Mercury shooting out of the boxes and charging head on, unleashing a series of kicks that were easily blocked before the figure until he was grabbed by his ankle and had the rest of his leg slammed into the ground by the assailant's fist, sending him to the ground.

Before Torchwick could fire another explosive at the attacker, the figure had already held his blade to Cinder's throat, who was unfazed by the entirety of what had just occurred.

They stood in silence as the five were now in a stand-off. This continued until the figure quickly sheathed his blade and lowered his hood.

"You!" Torchwick and Mercury shouted.

"You're getting better," Cinder remarked at the humanoid Grimm in front of her, waving her hand so the White Fang soldiers can lower their weapons, "But I still have the upper hand."

Baphomet watched as she lowered one of her blades that he had failed to notice, "Of course, Madam Fall."

"So now the rest of the party is here... how **_delightful_** ," Roman sarcastically said. For once, Mercury couldn't help but agree with the criminal beside him; they both loathed this... thing.

"But keep in mind, Baphomet," she gave him a furiously irritated glare, "Refrain from killing more of our subordinates. They are... essential for what we have in store for this Kingdom."

The man only cocked his head to the side with an amused smirk, "Of course, I will do my best not to kill any more people unless said otherwise. At least until this plan of yours is enacted."

"Well, nice to see that you two have kissed and made up," Roman said off to the side, which he would immediately regret saying.

"As for you," Cinder shot an annoyed look at Torchwick, "Why wasn't this job done sooner?"

Baphomet listened to the White Fang rebels walking back to doing what they were originally doing, as well as removing those that were unfortunate enough to get involved with the Grimm's... training exercise.

"Uh... eh?" he pointed to the stack of boxes on his right before pointing to the crates on his left, "Ehh?"

"EHHHHH?!" he then raised his arms and motioned to the entire warehouse that they were inside of, "Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!"

"You're an inspiration to every to every punk with a gun and a ski-mask," Mercury deadpanned.

"Look around kid, I've got this town running scared," he began to explain, raising his cane to prove his point, "Police camping around at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, AND we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with."

The humanoid Grimm looked around at the crates that contained the single material that had been used to kill many of his brothers- no, _former_ brothers. An entirely new entity such as himself could no longer consider himself a creature of Grimm, that would infer that he didn't have a soul. And from what he now knew, he had an Aura now. Baphomet flexed his fingers and watched as a dim, orange light shimmered around his hand. Still, he couldn't see himself as Human or Faunus either, as he could still hear the faint call of the Matriarch that every other Creature of Grimm heard with complete clarity.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother."

Mercury, Emerald, and Baphomet watched as Cinder walked closer to the man, "Oh, Roman. Have a little faith."

Baphomet raised an eyebrow in concern as he watched the woman place a hand on the man's cheek, "You'll know what you need when you need to know it."

Cinder's eyes glowed, as though threatening Roman with what she was capable of. Roman only responded with an ambiguous grunt as he then looked away. This was why he was an associate of Cinder, not just because the Matriarch told him, but because she was not afraid to do anything horrendous to get what she wants. Besides, with him being at least part Grimm, he was attracted by such negativity; it was what he lived for.

"Besides, we're done with Dust," she said, turning and walking away, leaving the criminal with a confused expression.

"Okaayy, then what now?" Roman asked.

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building," she turned and began to walk away, "I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?" Roman looked at her in concern.

"We're proceeding to phase two."

Roman watched as her lackeys turned and followed her. He then pulled out a cigar and placed it between his lips before reaching for his lighter, which he couldn't find. The criminal looked up at the sound of a sharp flick to see Emerald holding his lighter. The green-haired delinquent then stuck her tongue out at him before flipping it back and walking away.

"Dammit," he swore under his breath before he heard someone walking towards him in high heels. He turned to see a short, pink and brown haired girl: his partner-in-crime, Neo. The girl was holding a spare lighter of her own as she then handed it to the man.

"Thanks," he grinned at her, to which she mimicked the response, before lighting his cigar, "Neo?"

She looked at him as he called to her, tilting her head as though she had acknowledged him demanding her attention.

"I'm going to need you to keep an eye on them, something doesn't seem right," he explained, watching as she then pointed to the three of them.

Which one? It was as though she was asking.

"All of them, especially that one," he pointed to Baphomet, "That one **definitely** does not sit right with me."

She thought about it for a second before nodding eagerly, pulling out her parasol and unsheathing the thin hidden blade underneath.

"Sheesh, glad you're on my side," Roman said offhandedly, turning around as Neo's grin widened even more.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **Beacon Academy, Cafeteria  
6:30 PM  
Day 12, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

As Haytham continued his trek towards the mess hall, he couldn't help but wonder how he got here in the first place.

To begin his dilemma: he died, stabbed in the neck by his own son, a boy determined to eliminate Templars with no well-being over himself. Second was wondering what even brought him here, all he remembered was a bright light, then darkness, before ending up in this strange, alien world. Third, was the world itself: monsters made of pure darkness, guns capable of shooting more than one shot at a time, outlandish appearances, it was completely outlandish to him, but in this case, he was the one out of this world.

A few steps later and he finally entered the cafeteria, this time full of students conversing with one another. Now where was Shay?

"Haytham! Over here!" Haytham heard a voice.

Speak of the Devil. He turned to see Shay sitting near a table surrounded by other people. The strange thing he noticed was the large gap between Shay's group and the rest of the students as they huddled closer to one another and away from the nine people that sat with one another.

As he began to walk towards the group, he began to feel the presence of almost everyone staring at him. As the Templar proceeded to walk towards them, he began to hear very hushed whispers amongst the other students.

"Is he crazy! Doesn't he even know what happened between those two teams?!" one of them whispered.

"Who's he? A new student?" another said.

"He's actually pretty cute," he did his best not to look at the girl who said that.

Haytham finally approached the front of the table; with a young man with blond hair on his left, and a familiar-looking girl with black and red hair on his right.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet a very good friend of mine," Shay explained to the people around him, "Haytham Kenway."

The first to step up and greet the man was the girl in front of him, holding out her hand for him to shake, "Hiya Haytham, I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY."

"RWBY?" he gave her a strange look as he shook her hand.

"Yeah... it's a little confusing for some people," she admitted, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

It finally dawned on him that this was the same girl that Shay took the guise of. It made sense to some degree, if he figured out how the former Assassin was able to do that in the first place.

Then one by one, they each introduced themselves to him.

The girl beside her (also sitting beside Shay), the one dressed completely in white, stood up and held out a hand to him, "Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet a friend of Shay's."

"The pleasure is all mine," he shook her hand as well, with the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company surprised by how courteous the man was to her.

Meanwhile, Jaune was shooting a subtle and hidden glare at Haytham, but it soon faded quickly.

 _He certainly is a friend of Shay's,_ Weiss thought as she looked back at the Templar sitting beside her.

Haytham then turned to face the black-haired girl on the far end of the table.

"Blake," was all she said. Haytham raised an eyebrow at her introverted demeanor, but he paid no mind to it.

Lastly for Ruby's team was yellow-haired girl, but rather than greet herself, she said something a little... different.

"Damn, he's even hotter up close," she said, that was when the rest of the group only stared at her, "What? I mean, yeah... name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

 _Goddammit Yang,_ Shay pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand, while Haytham only gave the girl a strange look before looking to the team on the opposite side of the lunch table.

To his left was the blonde-haired boy, who had now stood up, "Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR. So... you're our new teammate."

"From what Shay has told me, it's merely temporary," the Templar answered.

"Oh, cool," Jaune nodded at the young man's explanation.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos," the red-haired girl beside Jaune greeted the man, to which he nodded promptly at her.

"Lie Ren," the young, pony-tailed man bowed his head lightly as he introduced himself.

He was then greeted by the girl on Ren's left, a rather... unorthodox individual.

"Name's Nora Valkyrie! Breaker of legs and Slayer of Grimm!" she awkwardly, yet enthusiastically saluted.

"Nora, just because you broke _one_ pair of legs doesn't mean that you are dubbed the 'Breaker of Legs'," Ren tried to reason with the ginger-haired girl. He looked up to see that Haytham's eyes were widened slightly at the claim.

"They deserved what was coming to them, Ren-Ren!" she answered.

"They were Beowolves, Nora," he deadpanned.

"Exactly! My point has officially been proven!" the girl yelled out.

Haytham looked at Shay for some sort of explanation, but all he received was a shrug.

"Well then, it has been... quite a time introducing your friends to me, Shay," he then took an apple off of Shay's tray, which the younger of the two Templars responded with a look that clearly said, 'fuck you', though it was merely an expression, so it could be interpreted in more than a few different ways, "But I believe it is time that I get acquainted with your quarters."

"Alright, I'll show you around," Jaune stood up, his dinner finished, and beckoned to the Templar. They both began to leave the cafeteria.

"Thank you, Mister Arc," Haytham said before turning to the rest of Shay's friends, lifting his hat and bowing his head to the rest of Shay's acquaintances.

At that moment, some of the people around him had different reactions from what they saw. Weiss raised an eyebrow at the man, Blake gave him a curious look. While Shay? His mouth hung open in shock for the next few seconds before closing it and trying to act as normal as possible. The rest of Teams RWBY and JNPR only held neutral looks.

"Well, he's... different," Ruby observed, the rest of her peers silently agreed alongside her.

Meanwhile, Yang watched as they continued to leave the cafeteria. As soon as the doors closed behind them, where no one outside of the cafeteria would hear them, she finally spoke.

"DIBS!" she shouted, causing every single girl (with the exception of Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Nora, and Coco, who was on the other side of the cafeteria) to groan loudly in disappointment, some of them whispering the usual 'Dammit'.

"Um, what just happened?" Ruby asked.

"Yang just called dibs on Haytham," Blake explained, giving the blonde-haired girl an amused expression.

"B-but you can't call dibs on a person! How does that even work?!"

"It doesn't matter how it works, Ruby! Have you even heard of the International Dibs Protocol?" Nora stared at Ruby as though she had grown a second head.

"Um..."

"It's an age-old tradition, older than the dawn of time, before Huntsman, before Grimm, BEFORE DUST! And Yang used it to her advantage!" the ginger Huntress-in-training pointed at said girl, who still had both a evil grin on her face, and the glares of every other girl in the cafeteria surrounding her.

On the other hand, Shay was still in shock from what he had just seen. Precisely when Haytham lifted his tricorn hat and bowed to the group of people before him. Why was Shay so riled up? When Haytham bowed his head, he saw something- no, two things very, VERY unsettling. What he saw, as clear as day, was a pair of fox ears from his head; and apparently, Haytham was still unaware of them.

The two teams watched as Shay, for some unknown reason, slam his head into the lunch table.

 _God. Dammit. Pluto!_ Shay only thought as the rest of the team merely stared at him before shrugging and continued eating their food.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Goddammit Pluto! Why do you do this to my story! Ahem, anyways, don't forget to leave a review and whatnot.**

 **Why is Baphomet working for Cinder's group in the first place? Is there something sinister besides the usual bad guy stuff?**

 **Also, why did I do this to Haytham, well... this one new addition plays a huge part for the story (and I'm not doing this because I want to, it's actually necessary for the story). Other than his fox ears, newly-gifted night vision, he's still the exact same Haytham, and he'll still be wearing his tricorn hat over his new anatomy.**

 **Well, be sure and keep an eye out for the next chapter.**

 **And as always, stay beautiful, ladies and gentlemen.**


	17. Chapter 17: Routine

**Q &A:**

 **Guest: Now where would the fun in that be? **

**Abrams 1559:** **No, just because Shay has experience doesn't automatically make him a badass. He's a normal guy (now with an Aura and Semblance, mind you) that was then dropped into Remnant, a world filled with dangerous monsters and kids with weapons that turn into guns. Shay has a sword, an air rifle, his blades, and his wits that managed to keep him alive on HIS world because they didn't have that advantage. But here? He's only slightly stronger than Jaune and Team CRDL.**

 **How is he still alive then? Some might ask. Well, he's** _**very**_ **lucky, and he makes that all on his own.**

 **Ranger Statio** **n** **Charlie: Thank you for the reviews, though the training room could probably be for those that just need a more realistic simulation for practice rather than fighting against other students (though this seems like a moot argument, given that all the students had to potentially fight off Grimm to pass their Initiation). **

**Guest:** **No Assassins, I made a promise to myself to include only the characters that I NEED, not the ones I want just to needlessly progress the story. Writing is an art, not a business.**

 **welcometodalolz:** **Well, alright then.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov:** **You're welcome.**

 **Ozo: Cool, glad to see that you are taking an interest. **

**Ultimate-Zelda-fan: This guy's askin' the question that matters. But I'll have to write more to see what develops from this. **

**Guest : Okay, and...? Haytham is a Faunus out of necessity, not because I thought it would be cool. Besides, he can still pass off as a human as long as he wears his hat.**

 **(Another) Guest:** **Thank you, and for that, here's a chapter for you, good sir.**

 **TheFOXN3XU5:** **No, I don't see a reason to.**

 **MetaCrisisDR:** **Thank you very much, your review is very much appreciated, by me especially.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hello everybody, I'm back. How long has it been? A month? Well damn, I'm really slacking... sooo, I'm here now, so I might as well continue with this chapter.**

 **If you have any ideas for this story, PM me, I might consider it.**

 **Now onto the story, Ad Victoriam!**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

* * *

 _"Mister Cormac, you've returned, how... unexpected," Pluto said as he watched the Templar from above as he began to enter his own dreams, standing in the bright void that made up his dreamscape._

 _The dark-shrouded deity watched as Shay crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him, "Pluto."_

 _He only sighed and lowered himself down to eye level with the man, "I take it you're not here for simple pleasantries, so let's just get to the point. What do you want?"_

 _"Nothing really, Pluto, I've been meaning to ask you something, actually," Shay explained, relaxing and dropping his arms so he wouldn't give an impression of hostility.  
_

 _"Oh really? And what might that be?"_

 _"What the hell crossed your bloody mind when you decided to bring Haytham into Remnant!?" Shay shouted at Pluto, who barely flinched at his outburst._

 _"Oh... that. Well, I can assure, Mister Cormac, Kenway's unexpected... entrance was not my doing," Pluto answered, leaning back slightly with a slight smirk on his face, crossing his arms as he waited for Shay to proceed with yelling at him once more._

 _"I believe that that is a load of bul- wait, what?" Shay stopped in mid-sentence, his expression turning to that of surprise and his accusing finger pointed at the deity lowered slightly as he answered in the most surprising of ways._

 _"Yes, be that as it may, despite my extraordinary powers that exceeded most of the Precursors in my time, Haytham's arrival was not of my intent."_

 _He watched as Shay furrowed his brows and looked down in concern as the news sank into his brain before looking back up at him, "Alright, say I believe you. If you didn't do it, then who did?"_

 _The Assassin Hunter watched as Pluto shrugged his shoulders, "Hell if I know, my best guess would probably be my damn sister-in-law, Juno."_

 _Shay gave the man a confused stare, "Juno?"_

 _"Of course, Juno, how could I not see it? She's been involved with both the Assassins and the Templars for so long, playing both sides of the board like some sick and twisted version of Chess," Pluto began to monologue and pace around the 'room' while Shay glanced at him in suspicion, "She's probably aware of my presence here in Remnant, that's why she sent your friend, probably turned him into a faunus just to blend into this world's population-"_

 _"Pluto."_

 _"-but oh no, no no no, I will find this little scheme of hers and crush it myself-"_

 _"Pluto," Shay repeated._

 _"-to ensure that she stays out of the affairs of humankind and not see them as mere playthings, there was a reason I sided with the humans in the previous apocalypse, but now she comes back from the dead for a second attempt to destroy us. Ha! To hell I say to that, to he-"_

 _"Goddammit, Pluto! Get ahold of yourself!" Shay yelled at the man, snapping him out of his egotistical stupor._

 _"I-" he stopped for a split-second before turning to the man before him, "My apologies, Mister Cormac, it seems that I have gotten too self-absorbed now that I think about it furthermore."_

 _"You don't say?" Shay rolled his eyes in amusement._

 _"Yes, I do say. Now that I have gotten my slight rant out of the way, it seems that our knowledge of what is to come and what has already happened is quite unknown for the both of us on equal terms. So let us help one another out."_

 _This piqued the Templar's interest, "And that would be?"_

 _"I want you to keep an eye on Haytham, he claims that he may not remember anything about what happened in-between both his death and afterlife. Juno, or any other Precursor for that matter, may have implanted some sort of message into his head, I don't know if it is there or what it may be should it exist, but we must be more careful now that an unknown... variable has been tossed into the fray."_

 _"You're startin' to sound paranoid, Pluto. That's probably what happens when one gets as old as you," Shay grinned cheekily at his comment._

 _"Perhaps I do, but we have to be more delicate in situations such as these. So I must ask of this request, Shay Patrick Cormac, will you do this?"_

 _Shay nodded slowly, moving his head up, then down before stopping and facing the man at eye level, "I don't see why not, I already have to stick close to Haytham and help him get used to world, not unlike the same why I had."_

 _"Splendid, so I see no reason to worry now, let us get underway," Pluto replied in an almost-cheerful tone of voice._

 _They both stood in the dreamscape for a solid ten seconds of silence.  
_

 _"Is... is something supposed to happen?" Shay asked._

 _"Yes, but I think I forgot to give you something. What was it? I had it at the tip of my tongue... oh yes, another schematic for you, please hold still and let us proceed with this tranfer."_

 _Shay ended up scowling at the man in malcontent, "Pluto, I sometimes think you enjoy watching me suffer."_

 _"Oh? And what gives you that impression?" Pluto asked as he walked over to the man._

 _Before Shay could answer, he felt that man pressed his thumb to the middle of his forehead, burning another set of designs into his mind._

 _"GAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Shay screamed from the searing pain that wormed it's way inside his brain._

 _"Oh, don't be such a baby," Pluto rolled his eyes before removing his finger, watching as Shay suddenly disappeared._

 _He was waking up._

 _"And so begins another day inside this man's skull," Pluto said to himself, sitting down on a chair that he had materialized, a book appearing in his hand while a glass of alcohol appeared in the other._

 _"Oh my, Miss Belladonna quite certainly has an... acquired taste in literature," he said to himself as the deity continued to read more from this book of what some might call, 'art'._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy, Cafeteria  
8:00 AM  
Day 13, Tuesday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Haytham continued along the hallways to find the Cafeteria and, in extent, Teams RWBY(S) and JNPR sitting on the seats of a nearby table just a few metres near the entrance. He watched as Shay laughed alongside his fellow companions and conversed with them.

It confused him and brought some optimism to him in some way, watching as the vengeful Assassin Hunter now... interacting normally, like an actual human being. Before all this, the Irish New York Templar was always hell-bent on searching for those that had him involved with the destruction of Lisbon.

Ah yes, Lisbon. Shay had spoken to him many times of the events that concluded to such a catastrophe. The hundreds, if not thousands of lives that were lost in the incident, the buildings crumbling like houses of cards after the proceeding of a slight breeze. From what the man had told him, it was a hellish experience that one would be haunted by for a very, VERY long time.

And yet here he was, laughing and talking to those before him like there wasn't even a care in the world. Yes, he had done many atrocious things, like many of the Templars before him, himself included, and possibly those that would succeed them in the future, but that did not make those that opposed the Assassins any less human than those that dabbled in espionage and subterfuge. How? Shay, he was the example.

"Well hello there, handsome," a feminine voice interrupted his thoughts. Haytham turned to see the one known as 'Yang Xiao Long' just a few inches away from his face. The Templar swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and sighed. Less out of frustration (he didn't mind much of Shay's friends, actually) and more for not breaking his composure and looking down at the pair of... boons that were bestowed upon Miss Xiao Long's bosom.

Seriously, how does Shay deal with this? Is this something that only the Irish had as an ability of some sorts?

"Miss Xiao Long, good morning to you as well," he nodded, using every ounce of willpower not to glance down.

"Oh please, Haytham, just call me Yang," she waved offhandedly before wrapping an arm around his and helping him into the seat beside her, that just so happened to be on the opposite side of Shay. This wasn't actually necessary, _especially_ when the blonde-haired girl's breast was pushing into his right shoulder. His eye twitched slightly as the two sat down.

"So... Haytham? How was your night in Team JNPR's dorm?" Shay asked, tilting his head to the side, a slight smirk adorned his face while his chin rested under his hands, which were propped up by his elbows as they leaned on the table.

 _Oh, you'd know, you potato-farming bastard,_ Haytham glared at him, while Shay remained unmoved by his expression.

"Rather... unexpected," he grit his teeth as he spoke to the Irish Templar. The elder former Grand Master plucked an apple from Shay's tray once more and began to eat it, a ghost of a sneer adorning Haytham's face as he watched Shay glare at him with malicious intent.

Haytham looked at the four members that made up JNPR. The first he looked towards was Jaune Arc. The boy, from how Shay had described him, was rather inexperienced in the ways of combat. Then again, Shay's entire form of combat consisted of basic infantry and cavalry sword-fighting, slight practices in fencing, and an improvised form of medieval sword-fighting in the Dark Ages. So in a way, Shay's description of Jaune was, in a way, hypocritical, with the few things making up for his poor fighting was his wits, his Assassin training, and that Air rifle he was never seen without. So all in all, his stance on Jaune was rather... neutral, to say the least.

His attention was then turned to Pyrrha Nikos, the so-called 'Invincible Girl' as Shay had told him. From what Shay had told him, both of them were assisting in training the poor leader of JNPR, though the results would be judged according to how Haytham would see it, as he had yet to see if there was any progress to be made. As he had been further informed, Miss Nikos had won several tournaments in her home country, making her quite popular while possibly earning her spot in Beacon due to this, though that is up for argument, as her abilities were most likely not embellished, as Shay was not one to add fancy details or anything of the like. His standing around Miss Pyrrha Nikos? Quite positive, from how the two seem to be working together. And Haytham trusted Shay as a friend, comrade, and from his knowledge of Shay undertaking the role of Grand Master.

The former Grand Master then looked at the pair adjacent to him: Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Ren's presence is actually quite tolerable, as he spoke only when he needed to, and nothing much after that. True, he was quite enigmatic to an extent, but due to his temporary stay in Team JNPR's dorm, he would have to make do with this. As for Miss Valkyrie? She was the polar opposite of the young man sitting beside her. While Ren was more quiet and introverted, Nora was energetic, extroverted, and outspoken. Though there was nothing wrong with that, it had led to some... difficult times.

One reason being why Shay had asked him of his condition in Team JNPR's room? More specifically, one might say that Miss Valkyrie's morning singing routine in order to wake everybody up could be heard from the other side of the world... at the bottom of the ocean... while one was trapped inside the belly of some enormous and eldritch Creature of Grimm. Despite that incident, it was a rather normal morning nonetheless.

As for his teammates, well, Miss Ruby Rose was a bright, intelligent, though somewhat socially awkward, girl with an idealistic view of the world. That was usually normal for those at her... maturity (he refused to say age, as those on Earth at her age were debatably more mature in terms of their view of the world around them).

Yang Xiao Long, Miss Rose's sister, was more outspoken and extroverted, though he was more than uncomfortable when her boisterous demeanor was directed towards him.

Blake was an enigma, she was Yang's polar opposite in the same sense as Ren and Nora; she was quiet, direct, and had a rather dry sense of humor, as he could tell from the conversations that Shay and the other four were having.

Then there was Weiss Schnee, the heiress to a wealthy company in a Kingdom known as 'Atlas'. From her rather wan and pallor appearance (more specifically, the tiara adorning her tilted ponytail) and stature (sitting upright, legs close together, head up straight, elbows refusing to touch the table, etc., ad nauseam), one might assume that she carried herself in a possibly snobby and supercilious manner, though this was not the case from what Haytham was looking at. Instead, her expression was brightened, happy, sitting close beside the Templar on the opposite side of Haytham, almost to the point where she could lean on his shoulder and still not have a care in the world.

Almost as though she was... wait, what?

The Grand Master Templar's metaphorical gears that made up his mind stopped in mid-click as he looked at her closely, observing her body language closely. Miss Schnee sat with Shay on her right, while Ruby was on her left, though there was an adequate quantity of space between the two girls, Weiss decided to sit close to Shay. Her eyes glanced in his direction every so often, though they would then shift to face straight ahead whenever Shay turned to look at her, as though she was trying to hide something.

It was from these less-than-subtle signs that Haytham deduced what Weiss had thought about Shay. But the question was: was Shay aware of this? And if so, did he even have the slightest intentions of reciprocating her feelings? Perhaps he would have to ask these questions later.

In the meantime, however, he would just have to continue with eating his apple and waiting for the rest of the group to finish eating their breakfast. And so he did, sitting between both Ren and Yang, who the latter was trying to initiate a conversation with the man, but to no success.

It was the beginning of a new day it seemed, both metaphorically and literally.

 **-Uphold the Principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **Beacon Academy, Hallways  
** **12:30 PM  
** **Day 13, Tuesday (Month 11, Year 0)**

For Shay, the class went about as normal as it possibly could. Port continuously explained many of his stories in very... intricate detail, Professor Oobleck rushing about the room with the help of his coffee-filled thermos, Professor Peach was being... well, Peach-y.

It was currently an off-period for the students, Team RWBY were in their dorm, doing God-knows-what (though Shay expected a catastrophic mess while everyone in the room pointed at Yang the moment he stepped through the door), JNPR was most likely reciprocating their actions, leaving Shay and Haytham alone to continue strolling through the Hallways.

Although a casual stroll through the quiet hallways was meant to be met with peaceful silence and tranquility, it instead took form as a brief but awkward conversation before almost taking a turn for the worse.

"So... Haytham," Shay began, while Haytham glanced at his fellow Templar.

"Shay," he responded, still walking beside the man.

The Assassin Hunter merely scratched his head at this failure to start a conversation. Seriously, how was he supposed to break it to the man that he had a pair of fox ears sprouting from his he-

"It's about the ears, isn't it?" Haytham looked at the man with a deadpanned look. Shay stopped his thought and looked at the young man with a look of disbelief before nodding, admitting that what he had seen yesterday was, in fact, an issue.

Shay watched as the young man removed the blue tricorn atop his head, revealing a pair of small auburn fox ears sticking out from his hair. To Shay, these seemed extremely out of place since he had known Haytham as a human for quite a while.

"I don't know what to tell you, Shay. The moment I woke up from my daze after the incident regarding my arrival, I felt them as soon as I placed this upon my head," he motioned to the tricorn held in his right hand.

"I had considered cutting them off, but I was more than likely given these for a reason. So, for the time being, I guess I'll just have to get used to these new attachments atop my head," the Templar continued, "Besides, there seems to be a few additions that come along with these ears."

"Night-vision?"

"Precisely, as well as my five senses being... enhanced? Yes, enhanced would be the word to describe it," Shay listened as Haytham agreed with him.

"Aye, that's a common trait for the faunus," the Irish Templar nodded as they continued strolling through the hallways.

Haytham's expression shifted to that of realization before looking to Shay, "That reminds me. If I may ask, what do you know of the faunus?"

"Why do you want to know?" Shay queried.

"I am just genuinely curious. Besides-" he pointed to his new set of ears, "-since I am now a faunus, it seems right that I know more about myself as a different... species."

The Assassin Hunter paused for a moment as they walked before nodded in understanding, "Seems fair. Well, as far as I know, the faunus have most likely been around just as long as mankind on Remnant. From what I can tell, there have been wars over the faunus as they are still treated with prejudice even today."

Haytham continued to listen to the man's speech, feeling more and more self-conscious of his new heritage, then it got even worse the moment the White Fang was mentioned.

"The White Fang started out as a peaceful group: leading protests, boycotts, and something called 'civil disobedience'. For the most part of this group, it failed to work, until it took a... less than diplomatic approach."

"That's when the violence started, I presume?"

"Aye, they committed atrocities, murdered, stole, smuggled, a number of things either of us could possibly imagine," Shay continued to explain to Haytham the 'exploits' of the White Fang.

When Shay had finished explaining, Haytham only nodded in understanding, "I see. From what you have told me, the White Fang are made up of a combination of criminals and those that live in poverty, men and women who are desperate for change."

Shay nodded before looking at the man with an expression of curiosity, "What're you proposing, Haytham?"

The man quickened his walking pace until he was in front of the Assassin Hunter, "And you're sure that the White Fang pose a danger to this land's society?"

Another nod, "Aye, saw it with my own two eyes."

"In that case, if we were to run into any members of the White Fang that dare to pose a threat to us-" Haytham unsheathed the blade hidden from under his sleeve, "-hesitation must not be permitted to eliminating those that seek to ruin mankind."

Shay gulped, suddenly nervous by the suddenness of Haytham's expression, "What about those that left the White Fang?"

Haytham's eyebrow raised slightly before sheathing the blade, "Who is it?"

"What?" Shay asked.

"I know you ask for details that matter when it comes to something as serious as this. For you to ask a question so... specific, there must be someone you know that is-was involved. So tell me, who is it?"

The Assassin Hunter looked to his left, then to his right: no one was around to listen.

"Do you promise not to tell anything that I have told you?" Shay demanded, receiving a nod from Haytham. The Templar leaned closer to the other before whispering, "Very well... it's Blake Belladonna, she was a member of the White Fang before leaving out of her own free will."

One might have expected a look of shock from the blue-dressed Templar, or an expression of disbelief or incredulity. Shay knew better than that, watching as Haytham nodded slowly.

"I knew there was something off with her, but it seems clear now that you have told me. Do you trust her?"

"Of course."

"Would you trust her with the secrets of the Templar Order if she were to find out about our origins?"

Shay hesitated for a split-second before nodding, "Aye."

He watched as Haytham lifted his hand to his mouth for a few seconds before giving a hard stare to Shay, "Fine, I will make an exception with Miss Belladonna, but if she displays even a fraction of an intention to rejoin the White Fang, I will not be held accountable for doing what must be done. Do I make myself clear?"

Of course it would come to this, Haytham was not always the best when it came to being socially discreet, his manner was more blunt than most. Shay only managed a nod while giving the Templar Master a neutral look.

Shay had known Haytham for quite a while, and he knew this core fact about the man: his intentions were more than good, but his actions for going about it... a tad less than good, but he has tolerated it despite the fact that both had committed the same actions despite their intentions for doing so: he had killed the his former allies that were responsible for the destruction of Lisbon, while Haytham acted solely for the Templar Order.

But for the moment, that was all behind them... at least for now. In the meantime however, he was currently training to fight the creatures of Grimm, and all that sought to oppose both humanity and the faunus in extent.

"Good. Now, what say we return to-"

"OUTTA THE WAY! WE'RE LATE!" Shay heard as Team RWBY pushed past the both of them. He dug out his Scroll from one of his coat pockets and checked the time: 1:30 PM. Had an hour really passed while they were in the middle of their conversation? That would have to wait. For now, they had another concern, getting to Combat training before they were labelled as the dreaded 'late'.

"ONLY YOU COULD DO THIS THREE TIMES, RUBY!" Weiss scolded the red-haired leader as they continued to sprint towards the classroom.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Ruby yelled back as they continued to make haste.

Haytham only straightened his posture after the both of them were nearly pushed over, "Is this routine?"

"You get used to it," Shay shrugged with a 'meh' expression as the both of them picked up the pace and followed after the group of girls that had almost barreled over the pair of Templars now behind them.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy, Sparring Arena  
1:35 PM  
Day 13, Tuesday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"Good afternoon, class, to another day of Sparring. For now, there will be no specific subject and will focus on improving your skills in the Vytal Tournament, as well as practicing to fight against the Grimm," she explained as she walked to the raised stage in the center of the amphitheater.

Haytham watched as the first pair of opponents were selected, or in this case, volunteered. Both Shay and Weiss decided to willingly partake in what was about to happen, explaining to the British Templar that she was going to help show him what the core concept of being a Huntsman was about, so what better way than this "Sparring Arena"? From what he could guess, from the Professor's introduction, the very name of the area, and the structure of the room, this was a place meant for people to spar and hone their skills.

In just a matter of minutes, both combatants arrived in their combat apparel, thought the term "combat" was debatable for Miss Schnee, seeing as it was made up solely by a dress, a pair of high heels, and a bolero jacket, all of them being white (except the jacket, which possessed red from within. Despite appearances, however, there was more interest in the weapons that clung to them, with Shay possessing his sword, dagger, and rifle visible to the naked eye; Weiss possessed a single weapon: a white rapier hanging from her hip, it gave off an air of elegance the more Haytham looked at her.

The both of them stood on opposite ends of the arena, Weiss was taking up an offensive stance while Shay spun the dagger in his hand. Haytham watched as the blade shifted into that of a sort of pistol. Shay jerked the gun to the side to reveal a set of six holes in the barrel, which he then filled with an equal quantity of multi-colored shots before closing the barrel and shifting the weapon back into it's bladed form.

At first, Haytham was rather skeptical of the concept of close-combat weaponry able to take on the forms of longer-ranged equipment, but now that he had watched Shay perform such actions before his very eyes, he no longer had a doubt in his mind.

Meanwhile, Shay faced the alabaster Heiress on the other side of the circular arena, his sword clutched in his right hand and the dagger in his left.

"Good luck, Miss Schnee," Shay said to the girl in front of him, who responded by cocking back the mechanism on _Myrtenaster_ 's handle, making the barrel on her sword spin before landing on a specific Dust type.

"Funny that you are the one that talks about luck, Shay," she cocked an eyebrow and gave him a shrewd stare, which was then met with a slightly amused look from the young man on the opposite side of the arena.

"Three, two, one... begin," the Professor simply said as the match finally began.

At first, for the audience, the battle started rather slowly. The two combatants paced around the circular pit, their ends of their weapons pointed at one another. The soft thuds of Shay's boots and the clicks of Weiss' heels could be heard loudly as they stared in almost perpetual silence. The majority of the crowd was filled with anticipation instead of what some would consider boredom.

It wasn't until the both of them began to slowly step towards one another, they stared at one another dead in the eyes as they neared towards their opponents.

Both of their swords nearly crossed, almost to the point of touching, both of them less than a metre apart from each other.

It was at this point when the battle finally began, with Shay attacking first with a horizontal swing from his blade, only to be parried by the white-haired Heiress at the last second. He felt a sharp sting on the back of his shoulder, forcing him to backstep away from the girl inspect his mark where she made contact. Shay looked back at Weiss to see her sword pointed directly at him, the blade now shimmering in a cobalt-blue color, a slight smirk adorned the young lady's face.

The audience watched and realized that the both of them were merely testing each others' abilities.

Shay grinned back before unsheathing his dagger and sprinting towards her. As soon as the gap was closed between the two, Shay began attacking her with a series of slashes and stabs from his sword and dagger, with Weiss quickly sidestepping a vertical slash here or hastily blocking a wide swipe from his knife, despite the fact that a minority of them had in fact, nicked her.

Weiss summoned a glyph at the last second as Shay attempted another side swing, causing her to land on the blade before attempting to kick him in the face as she stood on the sword for a split-second; Shay quickly took notice of this and moved back at the last second before shifting his dagger into it's pistol form and firing all six rounds at the girl before quickly reloading.

As soon as she landed on her feet, Weiss was quickly bombarded by a majority of the shots aimed towards her while the rest barely missed her by mere centimetres. Bullets made up of a variety of Dust shards struck her in various parts of her body sending her reeling backwards and landing hard on her back. One would assume that what the young man had just done would be considered ungentlemanly, but this was a battle after all, meant for two people to fight against one another with one ending in victory and the other in defeat.

Shay watched as she quickly recovered and stood back up, her blade still pointed at him as she took up the same posture again. Weiss' Aura protected her from injury and, in extent, damage towards her clothes, which was proven by her dress still taking on an immaculate white appearance. Before he could raised his sword to defend himself, Weiss quickly sped towards him with the help of one of her glyphs, striking his torso before ducking under one of his strikes.

Weiss summoned another glyph and launched herself several feet into the air as Shay swiped at her again with his dagger as it shifted into it's bladed form. She maneuvered herself in midair before summoning another glyph and sending her towards her opponent, _Myrtenaster_ spinning alongside her as she quickly descended towards Shay.

Shay quickly leaped out of the way as she landed, only for her to roll to her feet and fire a barrage of ice Dust at his feet, trapping him where he stood. He watched as the girl opposite of him began to speed towards him at an unnatural speed with her blade poised to strike at him once more. The Assassin Hunter glanced up at the screen showing their Aura levels: with his hovering in the yellow zone while Weiss was barely nicked by his attacks.

 _Alright then,_ he thought, _no more playing around._

Weiss watched as Shay jammed the blade into the ice that held him in place. With a fierce twist, he snapped the ice block into shards before leaping away from Weiss' attack. The Templar removed the Air rifle from his back and loaded it with a Dust grenade (one of the many modifications that Shay had to make to his air rifle, among other things) before taking aim at the girl in front of him before firing. The grenade soared through the air, only for Weiss to activate another Dust effect from withing the revolving barrel in her rapier, forming a cobalt-blue barrier as the bomb attempted to make contact with her.

Shay barely had enough time to dodge the next offensive blow that Weiss thrust at him, catching the middle of the thin blade with his dagger. With a mighty heave, he parried and shifted Weiss' blade to the far left before pushing her back with a kick to the torso, sending her skidding back several feet. He caught the annoyed, yet cocky, look on her face as she prepared another glyph, but there was something peculiar about this new glyph that had appeared.

Instead of it being the usual circular snow shape that would appear below her feet, it was, instead, a spinning clockface that began to rapidly speed up faster and faster until she disappeared from her original spot, catching the Templar off guard. He readied himself as Weiss sped towards him at the fastest he had ever seen her move. He quickly sheathed his parrying dagger and lifted his sword, holding it in both hands as the girl before him quickly closed the gap between the both of them.

As soon as she was within range for the man, he quickly swung in a horizontal arc in an attempt to stop her at the remarkable speed she was moving at.

But it was all in futility, Weiss seemed to have noticed this, despite the fact that Shay had done his best not to give away his intentions. She quickly knelt down and slid under the slash in a manner that could only be described purely as graceful, cartwheeled back onto her feet and, in extent, another glyph that had been spawned behind the Templar. He barely dodged the attack that had attempted to skewer him in the abdomen, only to redirect it into his shoulder, forcing him to stumble backwards, but not without attempting to land a hit of his own, though successful, it did nothing to hinder the alabaster Heiress before him.

Weiss pushed past him with ease before moving onto another glyph that had spawned above the both of them. With Weiss' older glyphs shooting her upward, this new one did the opposite, sending her falling back towards Shay, spinning rapidly towards him once more.

Shay leaped away from her attack, watching as she rolled and jumped towards him unexpectedly, planting her heels upon his chest and pushing off of him, letting her jump back and land perfectly on her feet while it had sent Shay back into another glyph that was spawned immediately behind him. He tried to move, but the glyph that Weiss had summoned seemed to have prevented him from doing so. Remaining within the constrictive clutches from a spawn of Weiss' Semblance, he was completely and utterly at the mercy of his teammate before him.

The girl merely grinned, almost sadistically at him before releasing him from her hold, the catch being that it pushed him towards her at the same speed that Weiss usually moved when she was on a glyph of her own.

As he moved through the air, closing the space between the both of them, Shay had one thought and one thought only.

 _Do not fuck with Weiss,_ he thought as Weiss' image began to grow as he got closer and closer to her.

The match ended with the girl landing a final, yet powerful hit against Shay's back as he flew past her, sending him sliding across the arena floor, now motionless.

"And the winner of this match is Weiss Schnee," Professor Goodwitch announced.

Haytham was completely stunned by what had just occurred. From the beginning, he at first suspected it to be a simple duel between two enemies wielding familiar weaponry, but the next few minutes of the match proved otherwise. They used forces that seemed completely alien to the Master Templar, blowing away his expectations of the battle.

"Shay?" Weiss asked to the motionless body lying flat on his chest, his limbs splayed out as though he fell from the sky.

She watched as the man gave out a groan and tried to get up, only to stumble and fall onto his back.

Shay's body was wracked with pain, every part of him hurt, despite the fact that there was no injury. Is this what losing your Aura completely felt like? By God this was terrible. He heard footsteps making their way towards him, he opened his eyes and shook his head from the daze that had formed within his head.

He saw Weiss standing over him with her hand outstretched towards him.

"Get up," was all she said. Shay looked at her, then back at her hand before taking it.

"I thought you said you were only going to do this once," Shay said as he grabbed her hand and was lifted back to his feet with her help, though he was rather sore in the joints.

"Shut up," she huffed, letting go of his hand before Yang decides to get any ideas on what Weiss had just done, "That's three times I helped you, you are indebted to me, you hear me."

"Of course, mi'lady, and I am very grateful for the first," he bowed lightly while throwing her a slight grin as he finished his response.

"What are you talking abou-..." she trailed off before glaring fiercely at him with a slight tint of red across her face, "I hate you."

Weiss let out a yelp as she felt an arm wrap across her shoulders, "If that's how you feel, Miss Schnee, I hold no judgement towards thee. Now, let's get back to our companions, shall we?"

"L-let go of me, you brute!" she cried out, trying to wriggle free from his grasp before the blush on her face could deepen further.

Shay watched as Yang grinned mischievously at the sight, to which the Templar mirrored her expression.

They made their way back their seats and sat amongst their peers.

"So, lads and ladies, what did you think of the match?" Shay asked.

"Pretty awesome," Yang remarked.

Blake gave a thumbs up and a slight smile to the two of them.

 _So she can express emotions, surprising,_ Haytham raised an eyebrow at the sight before turning his attention to the rest of the team.

"That was amazing! Though I was expecting Weiss to win," Ruby answered.

"Of course," Weiss smirked triumphantly at the both of them.

"Though I was not expecting Shay to manage to land a hit on you," the leader of Team RWBY added.

"Obvious- wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean!?" Weiss exclaimed, Ruby merely moved a bit away from her as she continued to fume.

"I think she's saying that either I'm getting better, or you're getting worse," Shay responded, but quickly added before she could get anymore angered, "But it is more than unlikely that you would ever falter in your abilities, Miss Schnee."

"Why you-!" Weiss stopped herself before she could retort, "Hmph, of course, but I'll just call your strikes against me as good luck."

They all turned to face a new source as they heard said source begin to chuckle slightly.

"Miss Schnee, I think that you of all people know what Shay thinks of Luck, am I correct?" Haytham queried, watching as she paused for a minute and nodded.

"He says that to you too?" Weiss asked.

"Of course," Haytham nods, "It is one of this core philosophies, among others."

The Master Templar merely looked at Shay, who had left his seat to converse with Pyrrha, most likely about Jaune's training, then turned back to Weiss.

"He does, after all, make his own luck," Weiss glared at his response before turning away to watch the next fight.

 _A new day indeed,_ Haytham hummed in thought.

 **-Nothing is True, everything is permitted-**

 **Beacon Academy, Ozpin's Office  
3:15 PM  
Day 15, Thursday (Month 11, Year 0).**

"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels," Glynda huffed as she watched the Atlas military airships land on the docking zones of Beacon while smaller fighter-based ships flew overhead, knowing that only one man could bring what could be considered an entire army to Vale and still not raise suspicions.

She glanced off to the right to see that the Headmaster standing beside her still held a neutral expression from the sight.

"Well..." he started, sipping from his famous mug of coffee that he is never seen without, "Running an academy and a military makes him a busy man."

She looked at Ozpin with a bemused expression until he admitted immediately after, "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore."

Ozpin turned around as a beeping sound emitted from his desk, he looked to see that it held a holographic message with the words 'Access Requested' printed across the panel in white.

 _In five, four, three, two, one..._ Glynda thought to herself, knowing just exactly who would be walking through that door.

"Come in," the Headmaster granted permission, watching as a man stepped into the room, an air of authority surrounding him, dressed completely in white save for his dress shirt and tie, which happened to be blue and red.

 _I knew it_ _,_ Glynda groaned inwardly as none other than General James Ironwood walked into Ozpin's office.

"Ozpin!" Ironwood said as he caught sight of the man in front of him.

"Hello General," Ozpin merely said as he stood in a formal posture.

"Please," the General waved offhandedly as the two continued to approach one another, "Drop the formalities."

They both stretched out their hands and shook them, greeting each other officially, "It's been too long."

Professor Goodwitch attempted to leave the room before Ja- no, _Ironwood_ would notice her. Though the clacking of heels did nothing to help her attempt to stealthily avoid the man before her.

And just to prove her point, "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

She waved her hand at him in a melodramatic fashion, "Oh James... I'll be outside."

They both watched as she immediately left the room, leaving the two old friends to themselves.

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," Ironwood quipped, while Ozpin turned to pour himself a drink.

"So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" he asked the General as he poured the liquid into his mug, "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

The General of Atlas accepted the mug in his right hand while withdrawing a flask from his coat with the other, uncapping it and pouring it into the mug, "Well you know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with you hosting, I thought this might be an opportunity to... catch up."

"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends. However, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned," Ozpin responded, pouring another drink for himself.

"Well, concern is what brought them here," he explained.

"I understand travel between Kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"

"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men," Ironwood said, watching as Ozpin drank from his mug once more.

The silver-haired Headmaster merely sighed, "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this... are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true the-"

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival; a time to celebrate unity and peace," Ozpin explained, "So I suggest you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"I'm just being cautious," Ironwood replied.

"As am I, which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can. Speaking of which, there is at least some more good that came out of your arrival."

"Really? I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, but I'll just trust you and take the latter. Is this another one of your pet projects that you've been working on?"

"No, this is something a bit more... unorthodox, something that requires your assistance. Besides, you've seen how my last... project went," Ozpin swallowed hard, trying not to cringe at the memory.

"Believe me, Oz, I know the feeling as well."

"Did you comply with his wish at the moment of his- ahem, passing?"

"Yes, he was properly cremated and given a soldier's funeral, although there's the fact that the practice of cremation hasn't been performed in decades, that was his wish. In the end, I think he'd be satisfied with what was done."

"Then you obviously didn't know him at all, the boy was very stubborn and displayed a very... how do I put it? Ah yes, eccentric attitude," Ozpin explain with a small, melancholic smile upon his face.

"And by eccentric, you mean bitter and narcissistic?" Ironwood corrected.

"Just the way I'd put it," the Headmaster of Beacon nodded, "If this were the best situation to honor him, then we might as well pay our respects."

"Of course," Ironwood agreed before holding out his mug, "To the Sergeant."

"To the Sergeant," Ozpin echoed, clinking his cup against the General's before drinking from it.

"Now then, what is it that you wanted me to help you with? Did you have another team of five again?"

"Yes and no, I have a team comprised of five members, but that's not the issue."

"So you do have another five-man team, well, I shouldn't be surprised," the General shook his head in amusement.

"Nice to see that you find their situation humorous, though you shouldn't judge, almost every Headmaster has had at least one team comprised of five members at some point, even Atlas, while you were in charge," Ozpin pointed out.

"Yes," Ironwood admitted, "Team CLOVR. I read their reports, and to compare with their name and their scores of teamwork: tsk... the irony."

They both chuckled at the old memory, "Be it as it may, I may have had more five-member teams than most Headmasters would like to admit, but you're one of the few to actually break the Team-naming at one point. Which team would I recall? Team FNKI, was it?"

The General of Atlas frowned at this for a few seconds before nodding in amusement, "Well played, Ozpin, well played. Now let's cut to the chase, what do you need?"

"I've taken in a student by the name of Shay Cormac, the fifth in what should've been a four-membered team. Though he is the odd one out, this team has actually lasted rather well when compared to either average teams or fives for that matter. But he isn't the problem, his colleague is."

"Colleague?"

"One of his friends literally appeared in the dead center of the Emerald Forest, barely managed to survive an entire pack of Grimm before being recovered by one of my second-years. Due to... confidential circumstances, I have decided to induct him as a Huntsman as well, but there is a problem."

"And that is?" he asked, though Ironwood was slightly irked by the way Ozpin had said 'confidential'.

"All the dorms for Beacon students are currently in use by the teams that have already been selected, leaving only the spare dorms for the visiting students of Vacuo, Mistral, and last, but not least, Atlas. You are catching on to what I'm saying, right?"

It took a minimal amount of thinking, but it finally dawned on Ironwood, "So you're asking me to-"

"Yes."

"But that's against regulations," he said.

"I know, but I am asking for you to do what you can to assist me in this dilemma," Ozpin replied.

Ironwood sighed before rubbing his face with both hands from the headache that was beginning to take root, "You're going to be the death of me one day, Ozpin."

"I'm not asking for much, James, I am merely requesting that you do what you can to ensure that this boy, this... Haytham Kenway, stays on the path of being a Huntsman, not because he had asked to, but out of necessity. There is something not right with that boy, and I intend to find out what it is."

"Oz, you know I can always have some of my guards take him for... questioning."

"And what would that accomplish, besides more than a few broken bones?"

"More than you would know," James answered with a slight smirk, but was shadowed by a hidden glare and an edge of hostility.

"James, that is not how we do things here. I would prefer that we take the more diplomatic approach," Ozpin tried to reason, earning a hard stare from the General for more than a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"Alright Oz, I think I may know a way around this that doesn't interfere with the rules of the Huntsman academies, but I must ask to see both of these boys first."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard a knock at the door. Ozpin grinned slightly at the noise, "Well, I wonder who that may be. Come in."

The door opened to reveal two young men standing beside one another. One had his hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a black coat with traces of red adorning it, with a strap holding a red cross emblem across his chest and a belt containing a medium quantity of pouches. At his side was a double-edged sword, with the same rounded cross emblem emblazoned on the bottom of the handle, on the other side was a long knife with a thick blade and a small button near the cross guard, while on his back was an old-fashioned looking rifle.

The other beside him seemed like his counterpart: sporting a tricorn hat, and dressed in a blue overcoat, with a red ribbon tied in a thin bow around his neck. His hair, like the man beside him, was also tied back, but unlike the former, his expression was more... authoritative, while the one in red was more relaxed. He held himself with a manner of superiority and command, one who would make a natural leader.

"General Ironwood, I presume?" the one in blue approached him, speaking in what could be considered an accent that would belong to one who had an upbringing of nobility, staring at him in curiosity for a split-second before stretching out his hand, "Haytham Kenway. My colleague here is Shay Cormac."

"Nice to meet you," Shay nodded, his accent contrasting with Haytham's.

"Please, boys. Take a seat, we have much to discuss," Ozpin motioned to the chairs propped against the wall, watching as the two pulled up the chairs closer to the desk and sat down in front of the Headmaster, who was beginning to get comfortable in his own seat as well.

They watched as Ironwood fished out his Scroll and switched it on, revealing the transparent screen. Shay turned to see that Haytham held a bewildered look on his face, though he shook it off after a good few seconds.

"Mister Shay Patrick Cormac and Haytham Kenway, human and faunus-"

Ironwood watched as Haytham sighed and covered his face with his hands, as though he was... annoyed? Possibly embarrassed?

"-contain no records or anything before transferring to Beacon Academy and, as you have quoted, Ozpin, 'no name, no place of birth, and no photograph for identification'. It's almost as though you two never existed beforehand."

Haytham merely gave the General an irritated look while Shay raised an eyebrow and looked at Ozpin with a slight glare, the silver-haired Headmaster merely pretended that he had not noticed this.

"Anyway, now that I have both of your profiles, Ozpin has asked me to assist the both of you in a slight dilemma that has occurred and, through enough of your Headmaster's... persuasion, I have taken it upon myself to help you two. The question is, will you listen to what I have to hear?" Ironwood asked them.

They looked at one another for short period of time before looking at the General of Atlas.

Mister Cormac spoke first, "Haytham's been my friend for quite a while, and he sticks with me. So the answer is yes."

Haytham stifled a laugh before turning to face Shay, "Quite a noble speech, Shay. Short, but noble nonetheless," he then faced Ironwood, "It seems that my answer has already been spoken for."

Ironwood nodded slowly, "I see. Now, let's get to business. Ozpin if you would explain what you have told me?"

"Certainly," Ozpin answered, turning his head to face the two, before explaining his plan to the both of them.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: And so this chapter is finally finished. Honestly, I have to say that although this isn't my best work, it certainly isn't my worst. I just needed this chapter to jumpstart the story again and give you guys a look at what Haytham will be witnessing for the majority of his time in Beacon (with the exception of the last part of this chapter).**

 **So what do you guys think is Ozpin's "master plan"?**

 **Also, for those that have read one of my other stories, I left a little easter egg that may be noticeable for those that have read the story. This reference is connected to both that story and _The Hunter_ _,_ but it is in no way canon to the former, so I'm basically not spoiling anything for either. If this sounds confusing to those that don't know what the actual fuck is going on, I apologize.**

 **EDIT: If you need some with finding out the easter egg that I left, the hint is "The Sergeant".**

 **Anyway, keep an eye out for the next chapter. Again, if you have any ideas you'd like to add to this story, PM me, I may consider it. **

**Alright then, leave a review (feedback is very much appreciated and needed for the time being, so tell me what you guys think of this story) and as always; stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


	18. Chapter 18: Haddock

**Q &A:**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: Might be a little too late to answer, but it hit me with the force of a cinder block... to the head... with enough power to put me in an emotionally induced coma, yet I'm still alive, breathing, and functioning, so that's nice.**

 **Jigoku no Yami: No promises, but things will happen, I guarantee that. **

**Helen** **a** **Bellamuerte: WRONGO! He's neither a RWBY character, an Assassin's Creed character, or any character residing from any fanbases. I said that he was in one of my other stories. But still, points for effort though.**

 **MEleeSmasher:** **Hmm... no, I decided to make Eagle vision a bit more... realistic. You see, Eagle vision changes depending on the user's perception. Basically, when you use Eagle Vision on one of the characters in Rogue, their displayed as Allies, but when you betray them, you now see them as enemies. It's that simple.**

 **Kin** **g** **Edgar: Goddammit.**

 **welcometodalolz: He is pretty cryptic, so who knows? Oh wait, I DO!**

 **FanficCrossoverMaster15:** **Only when he sees any point in using it.**

 **Banan4:** **Eagle vision isn't used as night-vision, it's for finding someone (or someones) in particular, to find someone in a crowd. In fact, I'd say using Eagle vision makes everything darker.**

 **TheFOX-N3XU5:** **Thank you, I really appreciate that. But then again... DOST THOU DOUBT ME ON KILLING OFF MAJOR CHARACTERS?!**

 **Fucking Hell, I guess this is what George RR Martin felt like before he decided to write the 'Song of Ice and Fire' (Game of Thrones, for those who don't know) series. Seriously, don't say that, you're only tempting me to do very, VERY bad things.**

 **Guest:** **1\. Who wrote that story? 2. Nope.**

 **Guest: Okay, OKAY! What do you people want from me... oh.**

 **vader: Thank you, Dark Lord of the Sith. **

**Guest:** **Okay.**

 **Another Guest (who has two comments):** **No and no.**

 **Guest: Depends on your definition of afterlife. In terms of RWBY, yes and no, it's complicated (and I mean the ending of Lost complicated). Also, nope and noperino. **

**FishCustardWrites : Thank you, fellow author. **

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, it's been almost two months since I made a new chapter of this, so I thought to myself, "Screw it, let's do this for the sake of both my promises and for the readers." **

**And so here it is, the latest chapter of The Hunter.**

 **If you have any ideas that you'd like to add to the story, PM me, I may consider it.**

 **AD VICTORIAM!**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

* * *

 **Vale, Commercial District  
11:00 AM  
Day 16, Friday (Month 11, Year 0). **

At first, Haytham had thought he'd seen it all ever since he had been transported to Remnant.

Some examples include: a large group of children fighting in a cafeteria as though it were a gladiatorial arena using nothing but what they ate as weapons, whatever the Hell he could call whatever happened during the duel between Shay and Weiss, and another intelligent and sentient species besides humanity living alongside them, to name a few.

But now the once-aged Templar would be utterly awestruck by the one thing that had changed from where they were from to where they are now.

More specifically: Remnant's technology.

To be honest Shay had never seen Haytham so amazed by something as normal as the far leaps that had separated the budding nation that was American Colonies from the bustling and glowing city of Remnant. Haytham's first attempt to speak the first time he saw a car? Shay would remember that look for a very long time.

Though the man was dumbstruck by such technological marvels, he did his best to, how would Yang put it? _'Keep a lid on it.'_

But the Templars had not traveled to Vale for mere sightseeing, no, they were looking for something. Or more specifically, someone.

A specific set of someones, to put it simply.

The two had been walking down the streets of Vale for almost half an hour. Today was the middle of Autumn, proven by the falling leaves consisting of brown, red, and orange.

Their trek consisted of crossing through almost all of the Vale's commercial district, heading northeast towards the border that separated this district to the upper-classed area at the northern coast of Vale.

Shay continued to make his way to the address on the slip of paper that had been given to him at the docks. Suspicious on what could happen, he was mentally prepared for whatever may come, hidden blades and all.

As the two continued to make their lengthy and arduous journey through the streets of Vale, they had begun to notice a change in the environment of where they had traveling. Vale's Residential district consisted of a long assortment of houses near it's mid-southern border, the far south consisted of the slums, usually inhabited by faunus families or human families suffering from borderline poverty.

When Haytham had seen the slums and ghettos of Vale, he had been sickened. Not by it's appearance, that was marginally partial, no. The source of his revulsion was the discrimination that the faunus had suffered after all their time spent with humanity.

Recently, they had passed a restaurant that refused to serve faunus, watching as one of their customers was revealed to be a faunus. They proceeded to watch as the man was literally thrown out out of the place and onto the hard cement that made up the sidewalk.

While Shay did not visibly see the former Grand Master's anger, he could feel it emanating from him as though it was some sick odor.

Even if Haytham wasn't a faunus, Shay thought that he would still hold the same opinion that he still held now.

Being a Templar, hell, even the Assassins morals were slightly similar, meant securing a peaceful future for mankind, but neither factions existed on this world. It was quite strange, yet relieving in some sense, that there were neither Templars nor Assassins in this world (besides Haytham and himself, though they could consider themselves retired), no preexisting organization meant to somehow guide mankind towards peace, or at least an butchering of the word.

Or at least, not that they know of.

After traveling north a little closer to the Commercial district, apartments began to take the place of both the average houses and dilapidated structures that could be called housing in the slums of Vale.

The pair had traveled through the residential district earlier and were now currently halfway through the commercial district. They had been greeted by an overabundance of stores, markets, parks, highways, large business buildings dotted across the district, and the like.

"How long must this take, Shay?" Haytham grumbled, clearly irritated by the amount of time it was taking to arrive at our location, "I was not expecting your associates to live this far from the academy."

"You know just as much as I know, Haytham. The man who gave this to me had only left an address, I just never expected it to take this long," Shay rebutted as he continued walking down the sidewalk and ever so closer to their destination.

"It's bad enough that it's taking this long, now Ruby's gonna to kill me when I make it back," the Irish Templar grumbled.

"And pray tell why she would do such a thing," the former Grand Master raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms at the same time as they continued to walk.

"The rest o' the team were continuing their 'Best Day Ever activities', and I left without tellin' em," the man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It'll only be a matter of time before one of 'em, Yang most likely, tries to extort me for leaving them. I'm willing to be she'd want a rematch between the both of us."

"And how many times have you fought Yang?" Haytham asked, genuinely curious by how Shay was able to survive an encounter with the same turkey-wielding fist-fighter that he had seen earlier.

"Twice," the man held up two fingers, "The first was when Yang had tried to... well, I think that she was attempting to assert dominance over the fact that I was the only man on the team, though it was interrupted by Jaune after he had attempted to return my rifle."

"You actually let him borrow your rifle?" the older young man asked in surprise. It was rare for Shay to let someone touch the air rifle slung over his back, much less even use it. Only he and Gist were some of the only exceptions.

"He's foolish, brash, and sometimes on occasion downright idiotic, but I'd learnt to trust him in the amount of time that I had met him," Shay explained his trust in the leader of team JNPR.

"Ah, I see. And what was the second time for?"

"She wanted a rematch," the Templar answered, pressing his hand to his cheek, remembering the punch that the blonde boxer had inflicted on him.

"How did you survive such a battle?" Haytham asked, giving the man beside him an inquisitive look.

He watched as Shay merely snapped his fingers, watching in slight shock as Shay's form flickered for a second before Yang's form took his place.

It would've caused an even bigger shock if there were people actually around to witness this. Good thing there wasn't, though.

"Semblance," Shay answered in Yang's voice before snapping his fingers once more and returning to his original state. It took Shay a while to get his Semblance under control (though there were a few fluctuations every now and then), and to his surprise, it turned out that snapping his fingers provided a way of controlling it somewhat.

"Well, as interesting as that sounds, you never really explained what a Semblance was," Haytham said.

"Alright then, to have a Semblance, you must first have an Aura," Shay answered, holding up a finger as Haytham was about to speak up again, "I wasn't finished, Haytham. Let me explain, an Aura, as Weiss had told me, is a manifestation of the soul. It protects us from damage and heals our wounds, though it has a limit and will deplete after we take a certain amount of damage, the amount depends on the person."

"A Semblance, on the other hand, is a sort of special ability that allows someone to perform amazing feats. For example, Ruby's semblance is her speed that leaves a trail of roses, Blake's is her ability to make short-lived copies of herself to distract her foes, Weiss' is the ability to create glyphs that allow her to perform many different abilities, while Yang... I really haven't figured it out yet, though I know it has something to do with flames and her eyes turning red for some reason."

He looked at Haytham one more time, "And as you should know by now, mine is the ability to take the form of other people, mimicking them to near-perfection."

"Is it possible to unlock my aura?" Haytham asked.

"Yes, but I don't know how to do it. I've been told that it requires special training, and that unlocking a person's aura can be somewhat draining... intimate in a way," Shay continued to explain the concept of an intangible "shield and sword", remembering when his aura was unlocked by the alabaster girl that he had befriended.

"Ah, I see. It seems that I will have to ask later for someone to unlock it," the Templar had said more to himself than to Shay.

"Aye, it seems so. Now-" the former Assassin sighed, looking down at his Scroll, asking himself, "-How much closer are we to our location?"

"So, Shay, what can you tell me about who exactly we're going to meet?" Haytham asked.

"I don't know much... but I do know that one had stolen my journal," the Templar answered as he pulled out the familiar red and black journal in his hands, turning to see his equal bearing a look of shock on his face.

"No... you mean-"

"Aye, this same journal that has all that I know about both the Templars and the Assassins. Now it's been read by someone who has no experience or foreknowledge of our Order," Shay finished.

"How did they get ahold of it? I know you can be careless on occasion-" Haytham received a cold look from the man, "-But you've never been careless enough to give away information of the Templars."

"I... honestly don't know how they had been in possession of it, but I do know this: the man has friends working alongside him. Two of them, I had my suspicions ever since I had been pulled away by the two, you know which ones I'm talking about, right?"

"Correct, an Artemis and Willow?"

"Aye, now I know this is a bit of a stretch, but she had said that she had a friend that knew of my presence. At the docks, I ran into the man who had stolen my journal. Now, I'm thinking that they're all tied together in some way. This 'Kane' bloke stole my book and told the other two about me, which is more than likely how the girl knew my name in the first place."

"Well, that sounds like more than just coincidence," Haytham said to Shay, as well as to himself.

"Never took you as a believer in fate, Haytham," the man beside Haytham smirked lightly.

"At this point, Shay, I honestly don't know what to believe in anymore, now that I've reawakened under this new... life? afterlife? I really cannot tell at this point. Anyway, if we're going to meet those that are the least bit aware of our intentions, then I believe we must be ready."

"For what?" Shay raised an eyebrow, though it immediately lowered after Haytham gestured to the hidden blade on his left wrist.

"Anything," was all he said before lowering his hand once more.

Of course, it seemed understandable that Haytham was prepared for a scenario in which combat may ensue, he's had to deal with Assassin's before.

The two continued to walk in silence until the elder of the two broke it. It was at this point where the subject change and the previous conversation shifted in his favour.

"Shay, if I may ask you a personal question."

"Mm hmm?" Shay hummed.

"What is it between you and Weiss?" as soon as the question left his lips, Shay nearly tripped over his own boots, though he regained balance and continued to walk, although with a slightly flustered look played about his face.

"I don't understand what you're talkin' about."

"You and Weiss, there's something going on between the both of you."

"I'm a part of her team, Haytham, we're merely partners," Shay hastily responded, his walking speed picking up it's pace a little more faster than usual.

"Really? In what context?" the Grand Master grinned cheekily, earning a red-faced glare from the Irish Templar.

"Now I _really_ don't know what you're- oh, we're here."

Before their conversation could gain any more heat than it did already, they both found themselves in front of an old, large brick house surrounded by a gate.

"Well, this certainly wasn't what I was expecting," Haytham remarked, looking at the house.

The building before them was the size of a large house. The small mansion itself was large and rectangular, it's walls made of tarnished white brick, it's many glass windows stained with age. The gate that surrounded the house was either painted black or was made of black steel.

To Shay, it screamed of familiarity to the Davenport Homestead that he had once familiarized himself with, but that was a long time ago.

In front of the house was a ring of pavement meant of for cars to circle around and let guests inside the house. From the looks of it, the house before them was most likely once a very frequently visited house.

But the most unusual thing was at the top. On the roof was a single chimney with smoke still rising from it.

That was a sign that meant somebody was inside.

Right next to the gate was a post. On that post was a button and a small speaker. Shay turned to Haytham, "You ready?"

The man nodded lightly before watching the Assassin Hunter press his thumb against the small red button, flinching slightly as it sounded off with a muffled buzz.

For the first ten seconds, nothing happened. Shay pressed the button again, still nothing happened. He pressed the button again, waiting as a minute passed, then two, then four, until it almost neared five.

Shay listened as Haytham began to unconsciously tap his foot out of irritation, his fingers twitching slightly from the amount of patience that had been leaking out of him at an increasingly steady rate.

It wasn't until Haytham began to walk over to the gate, "Haytham, what're you doing?"

"I know they are in there, and I'm going to have a little _chat_ with them, one way or another," the man growled, placing his hands on the bars, beginning to pull himself up.

 _ **"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you,"**_ a voice spoke out from the speaker.

"Now you decide to speak, Kane?" Shay asked, hostility dripping from the way he had spoke.

 _ **"Mister Cormac, it's nice to see that you've finally made it here. Now, if you might climb off the fence, I would be most grateful,"**_ the voice continued in it's usual calm voice.

"Why didn't you let us in earlier? Shay had been trying to get your attention for the last few minutes," Haytham demanded, now off the fence and in front of the speaker.

 _ **"Oh, mister Cormac, you never told me you would bring a friend with you, but nevertheless, I honestly couldn't see who was at the gate, lest they suffer from a bad case of fifty-thousand volts coursing through your body from just a press of a button right here,"**_ the voice, Kane, had explained. The two then listened as a click was heard from the other side of the speaker. From there, they heard a high-pitched whine resonating from the metallic gate.

 _ **"You really gonna risk it, boys? Well, if you want to come in, all you have to do is ask,"**_ Kane said in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Alright, can you let us in?" Shay asked, doing his very best to withhold any snarky remarks that he could've used against the bat faunus that he had met before.

 _ **"Of course, just give me a moment,"**_ there was a click, then silence.

A few seconds later, the Templars watched as the gate began to open up, making a high-pitched squeaking noise that was quite taxing on the ears. As soon as the gates finally opened up completely, there was the sound of crackle from the speaker.

 _ **"Well, the gates open, you can come in now. See? It was that simple, now we can all act as civilized as humanly possible, or in my case, faunus-ly possible, heheh,"**_ the voice chuckled as he finally went silent, the two began to make their way forward.

And so the two Templars began to make their way towards the house, both determined and a tad bit anxious all the same. This was, after all, Ozpin's plan, so there were more than a few things that could go wrong.

In just a matter of seconds, Shay and Haytham were at the front door. The two looked at one another once more, "You ready, Haytham?"

The elder Templar sighed, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, given that I possess nothing but my blades and pistols, I think I'll be alright."

"In that case, I think it would be best if you did the honors," Shay bowed mockingly, his hand gesturing towards the door.

"Shay Patrick Cormac, I believe this world is already getting to you," Haytham responded both flatly and dryly at the same time before straightening himself up once more.

The former Assassin watched as the man neared his hand towards the door, knocking three times before finally lowering his hand.

A few seconds passed before they heard the sound of shuffling, listening as it began to grow all the more louder.

Suddenly, the doorknob began to turn until it opened entirely, revealing their host as soon as they stepped into the house.

"Hello again, Mister Cormac, a pleasure to finally see you again. Come in, come in, take a seat if you please, we have much to talk about."

 **-Never divulge the true nature of our work-**

 _"Kane Hart," Ozpin said, reading through the file that had been provided to him from his Scroll, "Born from the same family from Atlas that had founded the Hart Trading Company, a business that had been completely snuffed out after the_ Schnee v. Hart _trial. Age: eighteen. Eye color: formerly brown until... oh."_

 _"What is it?" Shay asked, his eyebrows lowering on concern at the Headmaster's surprise._

 _"It seems that your candidate is completely blind," Ozpin answered, closing the file with a tap of his finger._

 _"What do you mean?" Haytham asked._

 _"From what I read, Kane Hart had suffered from an injury from an explosive charge during an ambush orchestrated by the White Fang. The injury resulted in complete and total blindness," Ironwood explained furthermore before Ozpin could, "Shay, are you sure that the Kane that you had met and the one that I had described are the same person?"_

 _"Now that I think about it, when I had met him, his eyes looked glazed over and... out of place; almost dead, it seemed."_

 _"And he helped you during an incident?" the man inquired, the General of Atlas raised an eyebrow out of suspicion._

 _"Aye, though I don't know what for," Shay admitted._

 _"Mister Cormac," Ozpin removed his glasses and placed them on his desk, "They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, have you heard that expression?"_

"Mister Cormac?"

 _Shay shrugged his shoulders, "I may have heard that before."_

 _"Do you know it's meaning?"_

 _"No, sir," he shook his head._

 _"Alright. What it means is that when you look into a person's eyes, you see who they really are, their true nature. Some have the painstaking ability to hide their nature, though it's inevitable that it can and will be discovered. Do you understand?"_

 _Both Templars nodded._

 _"Good, so if this is the case then," Ozpin leaned over to the two, "How can you trust an individual who's windows to the soul have been covered, permanently? And why would you risk trusting this person in particular?"_

 _Shay looked at him for a split-second, trying to think of an answer._

 _"Well, Mister Cormac, We're waiting," Ironwood said, both his face or tone of voice unchanged as he spoke to the young man in front of him._

 _Instead, Haytham came out with an answer, "Because, General, this risk can yield great results if played right."_

 _"And what would life be without risk?" Shay added, nodding to his comrade beside him before turning back to see a most unusual sight._

"Mister Cormac, are you listening?"

 _They watched as the Headmaster's face took on a light shade of white, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly, as though the words took on an air of recognition. Ironwood, on the other hand, seemed almost taken back by those words, but otherwise said nothing._

 _"I... I see. Mister Cormac, I've known two people that have gone by that philosophy, one of which is currently dead. You remind me somewhat of him, believing that he could take both luck and fate into his own hands," Ozpin stuttered slightly before resuming his normal tone._

 _Shay let those words sink in carefully, recognizing them as a warning, not a threat, and so the Templar answered with, "Professor, I am not the friend that you had known long ago."_

 _The man smiled humorously, "I can see that, very much so," he looked back at his Scroll, "Anyway, let's move on."  
_

 _"That would be a good idea," Haytham said._

"Mister Cormac!"

Shay looked back up at the boy sitting on the chair opposite of him. Both he and Haytham were holding a cup of tea in their hands, while Shay refused politely.

The three had sat themselves down in a living room, a set of cushioned couches arranged around a fireplace in a rectangular fashion. The mats below them looked foreign, as they were decorated with intricate designs. Paintings of nature, animals, and war had hung from the walls while a decorative set of knight's armor had stood in a corner of the room, it's iron hands resting on the pommel of a longsword.

"My apologies for taking too long to answer you in the first place. If it hadn't been for SOMEBODY REARRANGING THE FURNITURE, none of this would've happened," Kane yelled angrily before calming down, the bandages under his eyes shifting slightly before going back to their normal position.

"Forgive me for yelling, some of my other guests have a tendency to pull very sick jokes on me. Anyways, I'm sure we have much to discuss, seeing that you've managed to track me down to my _secret, most definitely hidden evil lair,_ " he deadpanned the last part of his speech, his smile still stretched across his face.

"Quite a sense of humor you have, Mister Hart," Haytham remarked, earning a look(?) from the bat faunus.

"Thank you very much, my good sir. Ah, my apologies, I never got your name, silly me," the boy mock smacked his forehead lightly.

"Haytham Kenway," the Templar introduced himself, raising the glass and taking a sip from his tea, nodding in approval of the taste.

"Kenway... Kenway... oh yes, you're the leader of the Templars correct? I read all about it in our dear friend 'ere's book," Kane motioned to Shay.

Haytham glared at Shay.

Shay glared at Kane.

"If I may ask," Haytham said, brushing away the fact that the secrets to the Templars have been exposed to a child (humiliatingly), "How were you able to decipher the journal, even though you...-"

"Lack eyesight? Easy, I had one of my... acquaintances here read it for me. Speaking of which," he turned his head back and called for the two that were, presumably, his guests, "Artemis! Willow! Our guests have arrived!"

The three listened as two sets of footsteps began to approach them. One set was quick and light, almost graceful; the other contrasted with dull and heavy steps, yet predictable rhythmic all the same.

Shay turned around to see the next people whom he would've searched for, if they weren't there to begin with.

"Alright Kane, I'm here what is it you... oh, you again," her eye twitched slightly as soon as she caught sight of the Assassin Hunter before.

"Artemis," he merely said.

"Shay."

 _"Artemis Dawes," Ozpin read, moving on the next profile that had been collected, "Born in the Borealis Canyon villa in Southern Atlas. A former student of Atlas Junior Academy before being expelled due to... erratic behavior."_

 _"Failing her classes, I presume?" Haytham asked._

 _"Hardly, she passed with flying colors, though she had passed a little too well," the silver-haired man answered. _

_"What do you mean?" it was Shay's turn to ask. How does somebody pass TOO well?_

 _"I mean that she sent several of her peers to the nurse's office, or even one of Atlas' hospitals, many of whom that had very critical, though thankfully temporary, injuries," he looked up from his Scroll, "And all of them possessing Aura, at full quantity."_

 _Shay gulped uncomfortably, remembering her threat that she had promised him, knowing now that she was fully capable of making well on her promises._

 _Meanwhile, Ironwood unconsciously, as well as uncomfortably, ran his hand over and across his graying hair. Her time in the academy was one of his... less than proud achievements as leader of Atlas. He chose not to say anything during this part of the choosing._

 _"Are you sure she should be involved in this as well? Miss Dawes holds affiliations with a secondary academy, after all."_

 _Haytham nodded surely, "If what Shay said is true, then she is most surely volatile, though even someone as dangerous as she could be turned redirected into something of better use if she were... properly guided."_

 _"You speak as though she's merely a piece to be used until it's outlived it's usefulness," Ozpin raised an eyebrow._

 _"That is true," Haytham admitted, holding his chin within his left hand as he leaned forward in intrigue, his elbow digging into the chair's arm, "Though she is capable of being something more with my assistance."_

 _Shay looked at the two that had currently been debating after some time, knowing that this discussion could go on forever if need be._

 _The Irish Templar coughed lightly, "I agree that Artemis should be added."_

 _Ozpin turned to Shay with a peculiar look, this gaze held for a few seconds before nodding, "So be it, is there anybody else?"_

 _Shay nodded nodded, "Of course, there's one more._ _"_

 _"And who might that be?"_

"What brings you to this place?" she asked, walking over to the young man, her hand resting on the top of the sofa, right above him.

Shay turned to see that the girl had not changed one bit the last time he saw her. The same hairstyle, same clothes (though they were a tad cleaner than last time), even that same device that hung tightly to her back.

Willow, on the other hand, still wore his similar attire, but he had been holding his axe in one hand and an axehead on the other. The large man sat down on an empty chair, leaning his axe to the side while tossing away the seemingly vestigial axehead, a dull thump was heard as it impacted with the polished wood beneath them.

"I've been meaning to talk to the three of you," he answered, earning a 'hmph' from the girl.

"So you finally cracked the case already?"

"What case?" Haytham asked.

"How your dear friend here knew that Willow and I-" the auburn-haired man beside her grunted ambiguously, "-Were somehow tied to being involved with Kane. I'd like you to tell me how exactly you knew."

He shrugged, "It was more out of speculation. You said you had a friend keeping an eye out-"

Kane coughed lightly.

"Sorry, keeping an _ear_ out on me. So when I met finally ran into your friend, it only took a couple of days to put the pieces together."

Rather than emit some sort of hostile tone, or even a dry, witty, and/or snarky remark; instead, she shrugged her shoulders and nodded slowly, "Huh, okay, you're smarter than you look."

"Thank you."

"Wasn't meant to be a compliment... then again, it wasn't exactly an insult either."

There is was.

"If I may interrupt," Willow, the large, auburn-haired young man, finally spoke, "I know you're not here for just simple talk. You came here for a reason."

"And so you finally speak again, it's been a while Willow. But he's right," Kane nodded, turning his head towards the two of them, "You came here for my assistance, now what is you want?"

 _"Willow Anoran," Ozpin began to read aloud the final profile that had appeared on his Scroll, "Unlike the previous two, Willow was born in one of Mistral's more... tamed swamps. Willow had learned to read and write with the help of his parents, and the few books that had been provided for him."_

 _"How do you know this specifically?" Shay asked, curious as to how Ozpin had been able to know something this personal._

 _"He had admitted this when he emigrated to Vale during a profile check in accordance to his education level. Anyway, he had spent most of his life working with his father as a lumberjack, who's company is responsible for at least fifteen percent of Remnant, making his father's company the fifth-largest in the raw materials industry, the first being the Schnee Dust Company and their Dust exports," Ironwood answered._

 _"Well, at least we have something about him," Haytham mused._

 _"Shay, I would like to say that out of all of the people that have been compiled before me, I believe Willow would also make a perfect candidate," Ozpin advised, setting his Scroll down to the side._

 _"What makes you say that?" Shay asked, curious as to why Ozpin himself would be recommending a candidate of his own.  
_

 _"For starters, Willow seems to have both the clearest of agendas and be the most level headed of the three. From his words during an interview after a failed attempt to attend Haven Academy, he had said, and I quote, 'I just don't want to see people fighting over petty things anymore, and if I must fight and become a hypocrite to achieve this end, then so be it.'," the silver-haired Headmaster explained, "He is neither as... brutally vicious as Miss Dawes, nor as unpredictable as Mister Hart. By far, he is the most, for lack of better word, rational."_

 _"Also, since Anoran has spent most his life in the business of woodcutting, having to move logs of varying types and sizes, it may be taken into account that he possesses more than a bit of strength. He's... decently average in terms of education, and from my perspective, he seems to have a well-abled head on his shoulders," the General added, his arms cross as he continued to list the boy's advantages._

 _They watched as Haytham began to absorb all information that had been given to him, he looked to Shay, who had also been considering this as well. He finally turned to Ozpin, "All valid points, I believe that he may be our final candidate, am I correct?"_

 _"Indeed. Now that our candidates have been selected, it may be in your best interest to look for them," Ozpin said, looking down at his Scroll._

 _"Then it would be in our best interest to start right now," Haytham clapped his hands together, getting up from his chair and standing up, then proceeded to turn around and walk._

 _"You do know where they are, right?" Ozpin asked, watching as Haytham stopped in mid-step._

 _Shay listened as Haytham sighed, watching as he turned around once more to face the three before him, "No, I do not. I was hoping that I would be able to find a number of people who do. Though in hindsight, I realize that it would likely take me quite a while to track them down. But then again, is there a better idea?"_

 _"Aye, there is," Shay spoke out, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a slip of paper, "I nearly forgot about it, but this was given to me by Kane before he left."_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"It's an address, he told me that if I ever needed him, I would find him here," he said, holding up the paper for all to see._

 _"The Hart Bastion?" Ozpin read aloud as the paper left Shay's hand and into his, "That's not very far away. I will arrange for an Airship to drop the both of you off at Vale."_

 _"Excellent, Shay and I will head there now," Haytham responded.  
_

 _"I get no say in this?" Shay raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in mock irritation._

 _"Of course not, the address was given to you, therefore, you will head there alongside me."_

 _Before Shay could protest, Haytham was already out the door and in the elevator._

 _The Templar sighed before getting up, "We'll meet again when we return with the three."_

 _"Of course, goodbye mister Cormac," Ozpin nodded as Shay entered the elevator beside Haytham, watching as it closed and descended to Beacon Academy's ground floor._

"We came here with an invitation, hoping that all of you would accept should it pique your interest," Haytham answered.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Kane cocked his head to the side with a curious look.

"My friend here, Haytham, has currently been spending time in Beacon Academy," Shay began, "Now, without any other teammates to be seen or heard of, people are going to be suspicious of him. So what I'm asking is-"

"You want us to be his teammates for Beacon?" Kane guessed.

"Close, for Atlas," Shay corrected, watching as one of Artemis' eyebrows raised.

"And you had concocted this plan all on your own?" Willow asked, crossing his arms, as well as one of his legs over the other.

"No, it was Headmasters Ozpin and Ironwood's idea. Ozpin suggested that Haytham's new team was to be place under a different Academy, and just at the right time, General Ironwood has made a visit to this Kingdom. I merely expanded upon the plan, while Shay provided the possible candidates that would work alongside me. As you can see, this has gone rather satisfactory," Haytham motioned to the three before adding, "And there just happens to be three of you here."

"What's the catch?" Artemis asked, her eyebrow still raised.

"No catch or conditions, Ozpin merely seeks to assist us. Though I have a feeling he knows something we don't," Shay answered.

"Well, we know things that he doesn't either," Kane responded, pointing to the both of them, "You two are not from around here. Tell me, what's your world like?"

"Primitive compared to yours," Shay answered quickly before looking at the two beside the bat faunus, "You're not fazed by this?"

Artemis shook her head, "I don't believe it, Kane's just as crazy as the day I met him, and I'm beginning to think you two are just as crazy as he is. I mean, secret organizations arguing over freedom or order? Really? Next thing Kane'll tell me is that the Four Maidens are real!"

"Believe what you will, dearie, but I know for a fact that Shay and Haytham are not of Remnant."

"Right, because they're aliens, _sooooo_ scary. I mean, those blades on their wrists are just a simple product of engineering, nothing more, nothing less."

Willow, on the other hand, shrugged his shoulders, "Until I know for sure, I honestly don't care."

Shay watched as Haytham stood back up, "Alright, that settles it, you are all fine with this. Now, one simple question, will you accept?"

At first, there was a brief bout of silence, though it was only a handful of seconds in the single digits, it felt much longer.

Kane was the first to raise his hand, "I will. It would be a pleasure to work with an outlander, much more, a member and leader of an oh-so secretive organization. And before you say anything, my blindness is most certainly not a hindrance. Shay would be the subject of that."

"True," Shay simply said, nodding in understanding. Haytham, on the other hand, glared at the boy for mentioning the Templars once more.

Willow was the second, "Didn't pass Haven's exam, so I don't see why I shouldn't be given a second chance. I accept this challenge!" the young, yet giant, man bellowed in excitement, standing up and grabbing for his axe before swinging it onto one of his shoulders.

"And you, Miss Dawes?" Haytham asked, looking at the shorter girl.

The girl sighed, "Usually, I would say no, since this is Atlas that you're talking about. But then again, where Willow goes, I go."

"Are you two in a relationship of any kind?" the Templar asked.

Both Willow and Artemis shook their heads, "No, merely platonic. I think Willow's too... idealistic-"

"Oi," Willow merely said, "While I think Artemis is intense, calculating, and honestly too much of a grouch."

"Hey! I'm not!"

"Yes you are, quit lying to yourself," the red-haired man answered with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever, but yeah, I accept. Besides, it'd be fun to see Ironwood's face he realizes that I've returned. I did make a promise that I would return, one way or another," she wagged her finger from side to side before lowering back down to her lap.

"Good. Now, meet us at the Docks as soon as possible while you prepare for departure, and we make ready for your induction," Haytham finished, placing the empty cup in his hands on the table and dusting off his coat.

Before he could turn to leave, Kane spoke, "Kenway, you're going to need this."

He tossed a cylindrical object at the man, which was then immediately caught by the British Templar.

"You weren't carrying a weapon, so I can only assume that they're broken," Kane said as he made his way up the stairs in his house.

Haytham looked at the object, finally realizing that the object in his hands was a sword hidden in a sheathe. He grabbed ahold of the handle and lifted it out from it's sheathe, looking at the silver-colored blade that had now been reflecting light off of it's shiny surface.

"Atlesian Service sword, used in the Great War eighty years ago. Cost me over a hundred-thousand Lien when I bought it last year. It's sturdy, durable, and sharp as the day it was made," Kane called down as he finally made his way up the stairs.

"Wait, how'd he know that Haytham didn't have a weapon if he can't-" Shay tried to ask, though he never finished.

"Don't ask questions... or even try to figure him out for that matter," Artemis sighed while shaking her head, "He just knows these things for some reason, it's a little creepy."

"Well then... thank you," Haytham responded, with a bit of confusion etched into his voice, before exiting through the door, with Shay following close by.

As Haytham and Shay closed the door behind them, the British man let out an exhale, "Well, that could've gone better. But nevertheless, I would call this mission a success."

"Alright then, let's get to the landing bays and head back to Beacon," Shay said as he began to walk.

"Isn't that already the plan? Was there anything else we had to do?" Haytham raised an eyebrow at Shay's comment.

"Shut up, it's bad enough with _your_ attitude, now Weiss-"

"Speaking of our white-themed heiress, you never explained what's been going on between you two."

"GAAAAAAHH!" Shay yelled in frustration as he broke into a sprint, with Haytham following close behind him.

"I'm going to get my answer, Shay Patrick Cormac! One way or another!" he yelled at the Assassin Hunter as he continued his chase after him.

 **-Uphold the principles of our order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **Beacon Academy, Ozpin's Office  
5:00 PM  
Day 16, Friday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"Haytham Kenway."

The Templar stood up straight, his eyes hardened and focused. His new sword in it's sheathe and strapped to the belt around his waist.

"Willow Anoran."

The red-haired giant nodded in confirmation, his face unmoved as he stood between his comrades. The heavy axe that he had possessed was now slung over his back.

"... Artemis Dawes."

The blue-haired girl smiled evilly, looking at the man who had been announcing their names. Her changeable weapon in it's compacted form, while a pair of curved short swords hung loosely in their sheathes on her back.

"And Kane Hart."

The blind bat faunus leaned on his walking stick, a bored expression ruled his face.

"You four have been gathered together to form a new team and be inducted into the ranks of Atlas Academy," General Ironwood announced, looking at the four before him.

Since this was Ozpin's idea, he did not have the time or necessary resources to put together an official ceremony. So due to delays and priorities alone, he was forced to give a more... informal inauguration.

"With all four of you brought together, you shall be known as Team HADK (Haddock) of Atlas, led by Haytham Kenway," Ironwood said, "Treat your new title with the respect and honor that has been bestowed upon you, and treat your team with the same privilege that has been given as well."

Haytham nodded once, Willow saluted (though the salute was off, the sentiment was still there), Artemis did the same, though in a much lazier and mocking fashion; while Kane placed his hand upon his chest and bowed lightly.

The General silently sighed before looking back at Ozpin.

 _"You owe me... big time,"_ he mouthed at the Headmaster, who pretended not to see it, before leaving for his airship.

"Now that your team has been formed, your dorm has been prepared for you in the Fifth Dormitory Halls meant for housing students from Academies belonging to the other Kingdoms," he handed the four new students Scrolls, "We will expect to see you tomorrow at sunrise. In the meantime, enjoy what time you have left... before your studies begin."

The last words that left Ozpin seemed to take on that of a warning. It seemed that just because this new Team was formed later than most, that didn't mean it would they would be left behind, no, they'd have to catch up with the rest of the students of Beacon, as well as every other student that had traveled to take part in the Vytal Festival Tournament.

The four nodded in understanding before entering the elevator and exiting onto the ground floor, where they were treated by none other than Shay Cormac himself.

"How does it feel to be part of a team, Haytham?" Shay grinned lightly, knowing the pain that he himself had suffered through with Team RWBY-

"About the same, only now I will have others accompanying me," Haytham answered.

The former Assassin frowned. That definitely wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"So what now, oh great and powerful leader?" Artemis asked dryly.

"I believe it would be best if we get ourselves situated in our new dorm. There, we can unpack and situate ourselves."

"And after that, maybe you'd like to meet my team?" Shay offered, though a bit awkwardly.

"I think that would be a splendid idea," Haytham said, turning to the rest of his new team, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Socializing does seem like a good idea," Kane responded.

"Don't see why not," Willow shrugged.

"Didn't come here to make friends- oof!" she was then elbowed lightly by Willow, "... I mean sure. Friends, talking, socializing, sounds fun..."

"Good. Now, let us depart," Haytham finished as he then walked onward towards he and his team's dorm.

As Shay watched his friend and the rest of his team disappear around the corner, he decided to make his way to the rest of his team.

From all the shouting that sounded a little too much like Team RWBY, he decided to make a wild guess and make his way towards the library.

What have they gotten themselves into this time?

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Holy Jesus, it's finished. I finally finished the latest chapter.**

 **At first, younger!me was going to name Haytham's team: Team HAWK, but that was neither clever or associated with color, so now (present me) I had to reorganize my ideas and come up with something more clever, so I chose Team HADK.**

 **For those that wonder, a haddock is a silver-grey fish found in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, so it makes an appropriate name. Also, it's a reference to Gray G. Haddock, the same guy who voices Roman Torchwick.**

 **Alright, to be honest, I liked writing this chapter, though it seemed a little rushed near the end. Nevertheless, I think this is a great chapter.**

 **And before you ask. Since they're officially a team of Atlas, they would've had to leave for Atlas and continue training there, having to leave Shay. But then again, Volume 3 rolls around and well... let's just say what I just explained earlier is all rendered hypothetical.**

 **Anyway, keep an eye out for the next chapter.**

 **And finally, leave a review and tell me what you think of the story, and as always: stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


	19. Chapter 19: All for One

**Q &A: **

**Banan4 : ... Haha... remember, this follows a majority of RWBY canon, think about it for a bit... **

**Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov (You will now be known as KEO, extra words for word count be damned): Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it. **

**BrutusSilentium: WOO! Review! Awesome! **

**AFriendNoFoe: *Insert Lenny Face*.**

 **BUND3SW3HR: Gud, vury gud. **

**Ultimate-Zelda-fan:** **Well... shit, I'll probably correct that when my inner grammar SS Colonel Hans Landa kicks in.**

 **Storyteller:** **Thank for the advice, but I'll just have to leave it as is.**

 **To paraphrase an ambiguously moral video game character:** _"Tis' human to make a mistake."_

 **And for that, I will continue being human. Thank you for the tip nonetheless. I don't mean to sound offensive, this is genuine.**

 **TheFox-N3XU5:** **Congratulations, you succeeded.**

 **levu so** **to** **jr: Okay, done. **

**Banan4: One, no, they will not be made of bones, Remnant has considerably modern and decent civilizations, so no. And two... what the fuck did I just read? This is Shay Cormac, not Hannibal Lecter. **

**Guest:** **That's basically the reason why I decided to center an Assassin's Creed story around a Templar.**

 **Haytham's not stronger, he's more skilled, there's a difference (and telling from what I'll read further, I'll put in video game terms: he has the same STR as Shay, but more DEX).**

 **Don't understand why he'd consider a rapier, he's British. (I can tell that I'll get a lot of hate for this, so I'll just put on my imaginary invisible shield, pull up a folding chair, and eat my artificially butter-flavored popcorn from the front row seat)**

 **Uh, what? Furthermore, uh what?!**

 **Nice that you bring up the Dark Souls franchise, as I have enjoyed most of the series. Though what irked me is that before the release of Dark Souls 3, people had wanted FromSoft to put an Easy mode to sort of "ease" (pun not intended) the characters into the game.**

 **What bothers me is that there's always been an easy mode:**

 **It's called Dark Souls 2. *Shameless insert while simultaneously dropping a mic and leaving the room:** **youtube watch?v=7uW47jWLMiY** ***.**

 **Han Sho** **t** **Third: I don't know man, it does make sense, but at the same time, I would doubt it. ****Mostly because I believe that Han shot ninth, everybody knows that.**

 **Guest: Noted.**

 **Other Guest:** **Also noted.**

 **Ezioispirate: Thank you very much. **

**dndkeg : Maybe this chapter shall hold thine answer for you. **

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**Author's Notes:** **Alright then, welcome to another chapter of The Hunter, where Shay delves deeper into the nefarious plot of whatever goes on in the RWBY timeline. **

**If you have any ideas for the story, PM me, I may consider it.**

 **Now onto the story!**

* * *

 **I own neither RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

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 **Vale, Unknown Warehouse  
10:30 PM  
Day 15, Thursday (Month 11, Year 0); yesterday. **

Baphomet held his grip on the hilt of his blade, the cold, sharp steel of his sword giving off a luminescent glow as he stood in the dark, empty room, lit only by a single dull bulb. It was uncommon of him to actually feel anxiety, but this is the one time where he felt it.

"Tell me, Baphomet," he heard the lady in red's sultry voice, the sound like a jagged thorn tearing away at his mind, "When you discovered us, this scheme of ours, what did you expect to happen? That you would simply use us as a means to accomplish whatever personal quest that you're trying to seek out?"

The bastard crossbreed tilted his head to the side, a drop of sweat sliding down his cheek, "I knew that I would have to give something in return, so I offered my services in exchange for you to help me, which you agreed to."

"And that you would continue to serve me even after your mission is complete," she recited the conditions to the two's agreement.

The former creature of Grimm shifted his eyes, watching as a glimpse of red flashed through the dark, his fiery orange eyes failed to see what was hiding in the dark.

"Of course, if that is what you desire, Maiden," Baphomet immediately rolled out of the way as a burst of fire burned away at where he once stood, leaving a small, smoldering crater.

"You will also refrain from using that title, is that understood?" Cinder demanded, watching from the shadows as the man nodded reluctantly, "Good."

Baphomet turned as he heard a footstep behind him, holding the blade below his waist, though it still pointed upward, the thin, slightly curved blade capable of rending flesh from bone easily if Aura was not a factor to take into account.

 ***CLINK!***

The man whipped around, slicing with a horizontal swing, only to be blocked by both of the woman's Dust swords. The two locked swords for the next several seconds, trying to break the stalemate that they were currently in.

Cinder gave Baphomet a wicked smirk before breaking away from their sword-lock and using her foot to sweep his legs out from under him, watching as the crossbreed tumbled to the ground. Baphomet groaned in pain as he attempted to get back up, only to be kicked back down as the young woman slammed her high-heeled foot onto his chest and pointed her sword menacingly at him.

"Give up, Baphomet. You're defeated," Cinder declared victoriously, watching as the man began to struggle, "Don't you see that I won? You clearly haven't been improving since the last time we trained, admit your defeat."

Baphomet grunted as he tried to shove her foot off of him before lying still, a smile creeping up on his face, "On the contrary, my dear, I'm only getting started."

Before she could react, a cloud of red Dust was tossed into her face before suddenly erupting into a plume of fire, forcing Cinder to step away from Baphomet, who's gloved hand was now stained red from said Dust, more out of surprise than pain. This gave the altered Grimm time to rise off of the floor and strike while the woman was open for an attack.

Rather than connect with her, what actually happened was Cinder catching the blade between the palms of her hands as she had recovered faster than usual, given her astounding knowledge of Dust, and delivering a swift punch to Baph's jaw, sending him staggering backwards.

Cinder shifted her swords into a bow before releasing a large volley of arrows in a single nock, all of them aimed directly at her opponent. She watched with a hidden look of surprise as he blocked each strike with extreme precision from his sword alone before charging towards her with unbridled animosity.

Baphomet slashed at his opponent's waist only to then be blocked once more, he immediately shifted the blade towards Cinder and slid it up from her own weapon before successfully striking her on the chin in a little less than a second, causing her head to snap back from the blow, emitting a loud grunt before receiving a boot to the stomach, sending her to the floor. Were it not for her Aura, Baphomet's sword strike would've decapitated her and result in a killing blow.

"Now, who's the one that's defeated?" Baphomet smirked sardonically, his blade gently, yet firmly placed upon Cinder's collarbone, "In the end, I like to think that the student will always end up beating the teacher. It's only a matter of time."

Cinder raised an eyebrow before brushing aside a strand of hair from her face, "That may be true... but you forget that a teacher always has tricks up their sleeves."

Before the human Grimm had the time to even respond, Cinder quickly raised her feet and slammed them together, with Baphomet's hand being smack in the center of the collision. With a pained yell, the man dropped his blade and tended to his hand before being shoved to the ground as soon as the woman in red recovered. This time he was the one on the ground, with Cinder straddling his upper waist, Baphomet's sword held reverse-grip in her hand, the blade placed at the base of his neck, pressing into his ashen-tinted skin.

"Well, it seems that I have been duped," Baphomet remarked, still massaging his hand due to Cinder's trickery, "Now, are you going to get off of me or do we have to exchange numbers? Assuming that you have a Scroll for me lying about somewhere."

Rather than a subtly sarcastic remark or, even better, a blush from the attractive young woman, she only gave him a fiery glare before pushing herself off of him, leaving the sword on his chest as she left the room.

Wait, is she attractive? Meh, humans, faunus, they all looked the same to him.

Baphomet managed to sit up, still sore from the brutal beating he had received during their training. He picked up his sword, a curved and silvery luminescent uchigatana that gave off a light blueish hue, and pushed it back into it's sheathe.

Getting back up and dusting off his coat, he watched as Cinder returned, this time with her lackeys following behind, Mercury, Emerald, and two White Fang soldiers pushing a wooden box on a dolley before finally coming to a stop as soon as Cinder raised her hand to signal their stop. She then made a motion to the soldiers, watching as they nodded and exited the room.

The lights suddenly came on in the room, forcing the man to shield his bright orange eyes with his hand as they started to adjust. As soon as they have, he witnessed Mercury smirking at whatever discomfort that he was suffering from, "Do I amuse you, Mister Black?"

"Hmm? No, whatever makes you think that?" the silver-haired boy asked, faking his ignorance terribly, even to the point where it made Emerald visibly cringe.

"So, this sword," he began, turning his attention away from Mercury and placing the palm of his hand on top of the sword's hilt as it rested in it's sheathe beside his waist, "While sharp, I've heard that blades like these are fragile and easily nicked. Are you sure that a weapon such as this should be placed into the hands of a savage like myself?"

"Am I ever wrong?" Cinder asked with a mischievous smirk that turned into a glare as soon as she saw Baphomet open his mouth to retort, to which it closed after her fierce stare, "Besides, the blade is formed from a rare iron out imported from Menagerie, it's more durable than any other tool carried by Huntsmen, even in a form such as that. The blue glow that gives the blade it's signature look is natural all on it's own, even after it was formed into steel."

Baphomet frowned, "Wouldn't that give my identity away if I were to use it? I do not care for aesthetics, only results. I'm sure you would understand."

"Let me see," she offered, holding out her hand. Baphomet removed the blade from his sheathe before placing the hilt into her hand.

The Grimm watched as she closed her eyes, placing her other hand. She winced slightly as her hand began to glow with an inky black and orange hue, the blade's light began to fade, though it still retained a dark turquoise color, "This should work."

Baphomet hesitantly picked up the blade, checking for any abnormalities or unusual features (besides his uniquely colored blade) before finally sheathing it, "And how did you acquire such a weapon?"

"The sword was... graciously donated by a professional thief and smuggler from Mistral's black markets. He was a little more than reluctant to give up his most prized stolen possession," Emerald explained.

"It was either him or his life. So naturally, we took both," Mercury said, shrugging his shoulders casually, "Usually, it would be a cakewalk for Emerald, if he wasn't so good at his job. Or maybe her so-called sticky fingered excuse for thievery was just getting dull."

The boy was reward with a kick to the shin. If if his legs weren't prosthetics, it would've hurt. Instead, the kick, swept his legs out from under him and sent him to the ground.

"Gah!" Mercury yelled in surprise.

"That's what you get, Merc," she growled.

"Both of you, enough!" Cinder yelled at the both of them, watching as they both stood up straight, knowing that Cinder actually yelling was never a good thing. She would've yelled at them more, but Cinder had more important things to attend to.

As she ceased the two's bickering, Baphomet's attention turned to the box before him, "What's inside the box?"

"Your new disguise, our plan's ready and now-" she smiled wickedly, her eyes flashing brightly for a brief second, "- I believe you should be a part of it too."

"Wait a minute, you're actually letting him in on this?!" Mercury yelled, a disgusted scowl directed at the human Grimm in front of him.

"Yes, Mercury, I am. Our dear Baph has proven his worth and his loyalty to me. So yes, I can and I will. Is that a problem?" she tilted her head to the side as she looked at the silver-haired hitman.

The boy let out a long sigh, knowing that this wouldn't end well for him if he decided to disagree with Cinder, "No, ma'am, it's not."

"Good," she said, satisfied with his answer before redirecting her attention to Baphomet, "When you're finished getting ready, meet us by the Bullhead in thirty minutes. Have you thought of a name for your persona?"

"Of course, right here" he withdrew a small slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Cinder, who looked at it and nodded.

"Alright. Mercury, Emerald, let's leave our new teammate to his own devices for now," Cinder beckoned to the two of them, which they obeyed in kind.

Baphomet watched as they left once more. Unsheathing his blade, he pried open the cover of the wooden box before pushing it off, the wooden lid fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

Peering into the box, he grinned, looking back at where the trio once stood.

"Oh Cinder," he whispered, reaching into the box and picking up his new apparel, turning it over multiple times to get a full view before muttering, "You've really outdone yourself this time."

 _'I think it's about time I go to school,'_ Baphomet thought as he began to get dressed into his new clothes before heading back to meet with Cinder and the rest of his new teammates.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy, Library  
5:45 PM  
Day 16, Friday (Month 11, Year 0); Present Day. **

"Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" Shay heard as he saw the girl cloaked in red yell from across one of the library tables, a deck of cards held menacingly in her hands.

"Bring it on!" Yang responded, her hand clenched into a fist in anticipation.

What in all things holy was going on over here? Well, the once-renowned Assassin Hunter had found himself witnessing a sort-of battle between the rest of Team RWBY. More specifically: a board game battle. Even more specifically: a battle between the four taking place over a board game called 'Remnant: The Game'.

Shay made his way up the stairs towards the four to see that only Ruby and Yang were fully immersed into the game itself, with Blake only being mildly aware of the game, while Weiss was just plain confused. Oh, and team JNPR was sitting at a nearby table; Jaune had been reading a piece of graphic literature known as a 'comic book'.

Jaune had previously attempted to integrate and teach Shay about one of the modern world's form of literature: comic books, or 'graphic novels' as others would suggest. While it was much appreciated, his attempt to convince Shay was about as successful as asking Weiss out for a date.

"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" Ruby stood up from her seat, striking a oppose that was meant to look both terrifying and tyrannical, though to an outsider, the gesture would be seen more as 'bloody adorable'.

Yang could do nothing but gasp melodramatically, with Shay stood to the side, doing his best to stifle any attempt at laughter, "Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly, "at this point, Ruby was mimicking a fighter jet.

"You fiend!" the blonde-haired girl pointed accusingly.

But alas, little Ruby Rose continued her onslaught, mercy be damned, "And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time only lasts one turn."

Shay decided to watch the rest of the hilarity ensue, so he decided to lean against one of the library shelves, giving off a slight creak as the shelf had taken his weight.

Weiss, on the other hand, had heard the sound and turned to see Shay watching them play. A small grin played across her lips as she caught sight of her cru- uh, teammate, her teammate.

Right, Weiss, _just_ your teammate...

Regardless, upon seeing her Templar teammate, Weiss' smile faded and she decided to make his presence known, "Shay, you're back."

"Evenin', Weiss," he gave her a small wave of his hand, watching as she reciprocated the action and turned to returned to the game they were playing.

The others, both JNPR (excluding Nora, who was fast asleep) and the rest of RWBY, turned their attention to see the young man standing nearby. Each of them greeting him with a friendly 'hello' or a simple nod (more specifically from Blake and Ren) upon recognition, with Shay returning their greetings with a thank you or a small nod back.

"Shay! You're back. Wait... where were you?" Ruby's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You left before training, and you've never left training!"

"Yeah, it's a little suspicious. Almost suspicious enough for me to... extort you for a third round," Yang winked at him, her knuckles popping as she clenched her fists. While Shay grinned cheekily back at her, the Templar was left with a horrible pit in the center of his stomach, but nothing too bad.

 _'God... dammit... Yang...'_ Shay internally groaned as he grinned.

"I, uh... I had to take care of an errand with Haytham in Vale, nothing _too_ important," Shay partially confessed, telling only half of the truth as he raised his hands up slightly to calm any wild speculations that could arise.

It's not that they wouldn't believe him if he said that Haytham needed assistance in assembling a band of merry rogues to be a part of his team and keep a close distance to Shay for no other reasons than the fact that it would be a little suspicious if he didn't have a team in the first place. It's not like he could be a part of JNPR or something.

Then again, there was already a team of five, so it'd draw some attention if two coincidentally close teams _both_ had an extra team member.

It was at this point where Blake broke her already minimal attention to game to focus on Shay, raising an eyebrow out of skepticism. Though it was immediately broken the moment Yang decided to speak up.

"Anyways," Yang said, returning her attention to game and, in turn, Ruby, now holding a card in her own hand, "Nice try, little sister o' mine, but you just activated my TRAP CARD!"

Shay couldn't help but let loose a small fit of laughter as he slid down from the shelf and took a sitting position on the floor, his legs crossed as the former Assassin listened to the girls play their game. As he sat down, Ruby let out a loud shriek in disbelief from Yang's deceit.

" **GIANT NEVERMORE!** " she bellowed, standing up from her seat and slamming her fist into the table, causing a miniature earthquake to break out in a metre-radius and topple all the figurines on their set, "If I roll a seven or higher, Fatal Feathers will slice your fleet in two!"

Fucking hell, she even named it.

"But!" Ruby rebutted, pointing at her older sister, "If you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces."

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take," Yang replied, a metaphorical(?) fire lighting up in her eyes.

It was at this point where Shay thought it would be a good idea to grab a book, any book to pass the time. Tracing his fingers along the spines of each book that ran across his finger before picking out a large and heavy crimson, hard, leather-bound book with golden accents titled, **_"Remnant: Myths and Folklore"_** in big bold letters.

Before he could open it and take a peek, Shay dropped it out of fright as he heard an almost ear-splitting cry in anguish that had been preceded by a victorious laugh from the blonde-haired fist fighter.

"NOOOO! MY FEARLESS SOLDIERS!" Ruby shrieked as her head began a rather friendly confrontation with the surface of the table, her sister laughing at her sister's misery.

"Eh, most of them were probably androids."

"Goodbye my friends... you will be avenged..." Ruby mumbled from the oak wood table that muffled her voice.

The Templar had mixed feelings regarding the fact that they took this game so seriously.

"Not until I draw my rewards, which are doubled this round, thanks to the Mistral Trade Route!" Yang said, plunging the knife deeper into Ruby's esteem for her as the younger sister vocalized disgust towards the blonde.

Then again, they were just children, and he was... good heavens...

 _'Why am I suddenly so self-conscious of this?'_ was Shay's only thought as he reached down to pick up the book that he had previously dropped, holding it in his hands as he was going to check out the book later with the librarian.

The former Assassin looked out of the corner of his eye to see Pyrrha remove the comic book from Jaune's hands and replace it with a school book, then read the comic herself. Shay made a mental note to continue Jaune's training with Pyrrha.

"Oh, what's this? The Smuggler's of Wind Path?! Look's like I'm taking two cards from your hand!"

Less out of actually helping and more for the fact that he was running out of excuses for why he was always absent.

"Have you no heart!?" Shay looked up to see Ruby faux-sobbing as she smothered herself into the table once more.

At this point, it was Weiss' turn, as it was now proclaimed by Yang, "Well Weiss, it's your turn."

"I have... absolutely no idea what's going on," she responded, blankly staring at the deck of cards in her hand.

At this point, Shay turned around, walked down the stairs towards the ground floor before making his way to the end of the library to check out the book he had been holding onto. Boots rhythmically pacing across the floor as he made his way to the front desk, where he placed the book flat onto the wooden counter.

The librarian looked up from her computer, revealing a woman in her early thirties. A pair of cerulean eyes behind a pair of glasses, pale skin, orange hair on the sides of her head fell past her ears while the rest was tied back in a bun. A pair of canine ears sticking out from the top of her head.

"Name?" was all she asked, a bored expression on her face.

"Shay Cormac," he answered, watching as she grabbed ahold of the book and scanned it.

"I'm going to need you to spell that out," and so he did. The librarian nodded and input a couple more commands on the machine before handing it back to him, "Alright, done. Enjoy."

"Thank you," the Templar nodded before turning around and returning to teams RWBY and JNPR.

Only to be greeted by a rather... interesting sight.

 **"MUAHAHAHAHA!** **YES!** **FEAR THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF MY FORCES! COWER AS THEY PILLAGE YOUR HOMES AND WEEP AS THEY TAKE YOUR CHILDREN FROM YOUR VERY ARMS-"**

"Trap card."

Neither of them noticed the blank, confused, and astounded stare that belonged to their teammate standing not even a meter away from them, or the ridiculous bead of sweat that had trickled down the side of his head as Yang rearranged the board until most of the pieces were on her side of the board.

He didn't even know what to make of this. Their extreme competitiveness over this game, that is.

"Your army has been destroyed," Yang announced.

Weiss slumped over in her seat, fake-sobbing not unlike the way Ruby had been earlier, "I hate this game of emotions we play!"

"Stay strong Weiss, we'll make it through this together," the aforementioned leader of Team RWBY landed onto Weiss' lap, holding onto her as they both suffered by the amber wrath known as Yang Xiao Long.

"Shut up, don't touch me!" Weiss yells, yet proceeds to hug Ruby anyway.

Afterwards, it was Blake's turn, though Shay decided to open up the book that he had checked out earlier, tuning out their voices as he read through the table of contents. The book had a total of thirty-five chapters by the looks of it.

 _'Acknowledgements... no, Introductions... even more so... ah, alright then here it is:  
Chapter One: The Silver Twins.  
Chapter Two: The Girl in the Woods.  
Chapter Three: The First Hunter.  
Chapter Four: Huntsmens' Dozen.  
Chapter Five: The Profaned Giant.  
Chapter Six: The Four Monarchs.  
Chapter Seven: Eldritch Saint.  
Chapter Eight: The Tonsil Beast.  
Chapter Nine: King's Four Knights.  
Chapter Ten: The Grimm Seekers.  
Chapter Eleven: Maidens of the Seasons.  
Chapter Twelve: Clandestine Homunculus.  
Chapter Thirteen: The Thorn and the Fair Lady.  
Chapter Fourteen: Heiress of the Stars.  
Chapter Fifteen: The Stone Knight.  
Chapter Sixte-'_

"Hey, can I play?" Jaune asked, interrupting both the game and Shay's train of thought.

"Sorry Jaune, we already got four people," Ruby answered.

Meanwhile, Shay turned to see Blake waving towards him before mouthing two words while motioning to the book he was holding.

 _"Trade you,'_ she silently said, giving the man a pleading look as she had been dragged into this game of insanity. While Shay did seem like a better person ever since he started attending Beacon (he still did his best to forget what had happened during that time when Cardin had stolen his rifle. He was just fortunate that no one decided to report him to anyone), he had to make up his mind over such a bargain like Blake's.

Shay typed his answer into his Scroll and sent it to Blake, who opened up her own and looked at the reply before sinking sullenly in her seat and glaring daggers at him simultaneously.

Sure, he was a better person, but he thought it would be a ludicrous idea for him to get involved in his team's insanity.

 _'Sorry, you'll have to take one for the team... 'Blake Cat','_ the message had read as it was sent, while Blake was still giving the 'if-looks-could-kill' stare to him.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" Weiss suddenly yelled, holding her cards away from Jaune as he tried to reason with her, his attempts were poor, but they were reasoning nonetheless.

"Why not?" he demanded, his voice giving off clear tones of disbelief, "You've trusted me with way more important stuff before! I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a Faun-"

"FUN-loving person... whom we all admire and respect!" Pyrrha butted in, somehow leaving her seat and covering Jaune's mouth with her hand in the blink of an eye.

Nevermind, there it was.

Dammit, Jaune...

Everyone turned to look at Blake, who was giving Jaune a look so cold it would put Ice Queen to shame.

Upon this thought, Weiss frowned as she began looking around the area before turning back to the game with a mildly confused expression, _'Why do I have the feeling that someone said... **that** nickname,'_ though she waved off the feeling as just nerves.

"Right... that," Jaune said before bowing, "Ladies, enjoy your battle."

Rather than return to his seat, the blonde-haired boy approached Shay instead, "So... what's up, Shay? Where've you been?"

"Running an errand with Haytham for Ozpin," Shay answered, placing the book he had been holding in one of his larger coat pockets.

"Cool... so how was it?" the young man asked, clearly attempting to make small talk with a fellow brother-in-arms, "The errand, I mean."

Shay scrunched up his face in thought before answering, "Pretty well, actually. Met a few... interesting fellows along the way, to say the least. Anyway, how's training with Pyrrha?"

"We're doing just fine, actually," Jaune nearly jumped in fright as they both heard a second voice, Pyrrha's voice, right beside them.

The Templar turned to see Pyrrha in her school uniform, standing closely beside Jaune, "What about you, Shay? I haven't seen you helping out for a while, what happened?"

"Had to help Ozpin with an errand, Haytham was with me as well, in case you were wondering. He's with his team right now," he answered, crossing his arms over his chest as the three continued to converse.

"Wait, Haytham has a team? I thought he was assigned for ours," the blonde leader tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"It was only temporary, there was a complication with the rest of his teammates attending, but we managed to sort it out," Shay lied. Though he didn't prefer lying to his friends, it would hold as a better explanation than bringing in new students and a Templar from another world.

As easily as the lie was conceived, the two believed him.

"Well, just tell Haytham we said hi," Jaune replied.

Content with his answer, they returned to their table, resuming their previous activities.

"'Sup losers," Shay heard another voice beside him.

He turned to see Sun standing right next to him, with his other friend Neptune right behind him.

"Hey Sun," Ruby greeted the boy, giving him a small wave.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Shay... Ice Queen," the faunus nodded to them as Sun spoke their names.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that!?" Weiss yelled, confused by the use of her most infamous nickname.

"Well, besides your buddy Shay over there," Shay raised an eyebrow as he heard his name, "I never got the chance to introduce you to my old friend."

"Uh, aren't libraries for reading?" the blue-haired boy wondered aloud.

"Thank you!" Ren exclaimed, raising his arms in emphasis, followed by Nora waking up with a snort before yelling 'Pancakes!'

"Shut up, don't be a nerd," Sun muttered to his friend.

"Geh geh geh geh! _Intellectual_ , okay? Thank you," Neptune corrected his faunus friend, raising a finger as though to prove a point.

"I'm Neptune," he introduced himself before setting sights on and approaching a certain white-haired heiress, "And I don't believe I've caught your name, Snow Angel."

Weiss merely crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at his flirtatious attempt, "Weiss Schnee."

"Pleasure to meet you, Weiss," Neptune smiled at her, though her skeptic gaze only intensified into concentrated suspicion.

"Right," she only said before turning back at the board game in front of her. As Weiss turned away from the blue-haired young man, his smile faded somewhat before moving back to his original spot beside Sun.

" _Huh, you win some, you lose some,_ " Shay heard from Neptune as he passed by the Templar. While it seemed a little shallow coming from the boy's mouth, it was actually a rather interesting sight to see someone admit his failure to court Weiss. Unlike _some_ people.

Now it was Jaune who had a strangely confused expression, though he shook it off just as fast as it came.

"Whoa, Ice Queen makes a return," Yang said to no one, raising an eyebrow in surprise, though it faltered as a certain _Weiss-_ cold glare was directed towards her.

Sun leaned over onto the table beside Blake, glancing at her for a split-second before speaking, "I never took you as the board-game-playing type."

"Right," Blake responded unconvincingly as she got up from her seat, "Well, I think I'm done playing, actually. I'll see you guys later."

Everyone watched as Blake left, obviously troubled by _something_ , though it was Team RWBY (and Sun) that knew the real reason.

On the bright side, the awkward silence was later broken.

"Women," said the only red-head that wasn't Ruby or Pyrrha, raising her arms as if to relate to everyone else.

"Hey, uh... is she okay?" Neptune asked, looking at Blake's previous spot.

"Oh don't worry, it's nothing. She's just... having a bad day, that's all," Yang literally waved off while holding her cards in her other hand, "So... I guess that we're down a player, anyone wanna join? Anyone who's an extra member of this team perhaps?"

This time, the attention was directed to Shay, who raised his hands in protest, "I'm more of a traditional board game player."

"Like what, Checkers?" the blonde-haired girl cocked up an eyebrow at him.

"As a matter o' fact, yeah," Shay answered.

"Well, we still need a backup player," Ruby pointed out, "I don't see anyone else who's more fitted for the position."

On the other side of their section of the library, Jaune slowly raised his hand, "I'll volunteer as-"

"Agreed, Shay should take Blake's place," Weiss quickly interrupted before the leader of JNPR could continue any farther, "Now as second-in-command of Team RWBY, I order you to sit down and play this game with us."

Shay only rolled his eyes playfully and took a seat on the opposite side of Weiss' section of the table and pulled a few cards from the game's deck while Yang reset the board.

"Who made you second-in-command?" the Templar asked, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow at the Schnee.

"I did," Weiss proclaimed, "As our leader's partner, it made sense that I would be made as a second."

"I'm her sister though," Yang pointed out, "We know each other better."

"Are you challenging my authority?!" Weiss dramatically gasped, pressing the back of her hand lightly to her forehead as she swooned mockingly.

Though it was interrupted by a cough from the red-haired leader, who now had a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Alright, I'll play as Vacuo this time, Yang'll be Mistral, Weiss will be Atlas, and you can be Vale, okay Shay?" Ruby asked, who was now looking through her small stack of cards and smiling evilly.

The former Assassin hummed in agreement as he looked down, his fingers tapping away silently as Shay was using his Scroll once more. This time it was a message for Weiss.

No one noticed as Weiss reached for her Scroll, which had been buzzing in a pocket somewhere on her combat skirt. Once she finally took it out and looked at it, she was surprised to see that it was from Shay himself. She looked up to see Shay mouthing three words to her.

 _Read the message._

Weiss immediately opened up her Scroll underneath the table and read the message:

 _"Weiss, even if you lose your army, you can still get a second try with the Service Scout card by stealing a turn from Yang, giving you an extra turn to rebuild your army. Then you can use False Peace, roll a five, and use Skirmish to cripple her forces before finishing her off with Last Ditch."_

Shay watched as Weiss began typing at her Scroll while Yang continued setting up the game.

 _"How do you know this? You've never played."_

Weiss looked down to see another message just a few seconds after the first was sent.

 _"Look to your left and right, there's your answer."_

On both sides of the table where Weiss was sitting sat Ruby and Yang, who have now finished taking their cards from the small stacks off to the side. So Shay was actually taught by Ruby and Yang on how to play this game? Interesting...

Shay felt the buzz of his Scroll and looked down to see another message from Weiss.

 _"Truce?"_

Weiss saw her answer after just a few seconds and gave the young man an extremely subtle playful smirk.

The game was set, the players were ready, now Shay and Weiss were going to tear the Dynamic Duo on both sides of the table a new blemish in their winning streak with the combined (meta-board-game) forces of Vale and Atlas.

Shay and Weiss nodded to one another as the game began.

Meanwhile, Neptune looked at Weiss, then to Shay before finally realizing.

 _'Oh... that explains a lot,'_ Neptune mentally remarked as the two started building up their forces, hiding their plan to throw both armies at Yang and Ruby's nations.

 **-Hide in plain sight-**

 **Beacon Academy, Hallways  
6:34 PM  
Day 16, Friday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Blake continued making her way down the halls, her arms wrapped around herself like a loose straightjacket, which seemed fitting, given that the only things on her mind have been driving her insane for the past few days.

Sure she may have looked alright from an outsider, or at least anyone that wasn't her, but underneath all her introverted and (somewhat) anti-social demeanor, the voice of Roman Torchwick and the events that had occurred that past day still repeated in her head like a broken record. As much as Blake wanted to stop thinking of all this, to suppress her past and move onward to becoming a Huntress, her memories as a member of the White Fang were always at the back of her mind.

Never gone, but always there, hiding within the background of her thoughts. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

So she continued pacing down the long hall that made up the dormitories of Beacon Academy, her heels clicking dully against the floors as she made her way back to her dorm, where she'd await the rest of her teammates.

Her teammates... God, it may have been hard, but she was relieved that they were the ones that not only knew, but accepted her, despite her more... morally ambiguous upbringing. Even more so that one of her teammates not only helped her, but more than likely understood what it was like to... do what she had to do.

Shay Patrick Cormac, a good friend of hers and most likely candidate for Weiss to- no, stop it, stop thinking of that... nevermind; the guy's a good friend, he really is, but Blake always feels a little... anxious? Is that the right word? She didn't know what to feel about him. She certainly didn't harbor any romantic or intimate feelings (at least not any that can be perceived as romantic, but more than likely familial at best) towards him. They both shared very little in common, besides their knack for dry humor, but they got along surprisingly great. So why did she feel so defensive around him?

Blake began to recall her memories of him. That night before Initiation, she watched him unsheathe two blades hidden in the sleeves of his jacket. At first, she passed off the young man's carrying of two hidden weapons as him being paranoid, always having to have an weapon that no Grimm would notice just to then strike when the time was right.

Then he killed those two White Fang soldiers who had captured him with those same blades. It also probably explains why he was always carrying those bracers around his forearms that he always slept with. It was odd to sleep with a teddy bear at someone her age, a little strange to keep a loaded handgun under your pillow, sure; but to always carry a pair of bladed bracers literally everywhere you go? Something was off.

Probably, when the two get some time alone, she'd have to ask him about- _oof!_

With her face cast down, she failed to notice a passerby bump into her, causing her to stumble slightly before regaining her balance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was..." Blake trailed off as she was about to apologize midway to suddenly see a familiar face, who was also in front of two other less familiar people.

"Hello, Miss Belladonna, a pleasure to hear you're voice again," Kane greeted with a small bow, hiding a small grin as his bat ears perked up suddenly, "I must also apologize for bumping into you as well, it seems we both have the same problems with not looking where we're going. But then again, I don't have a choice in the matter."

Blake was actually shocked to see Kane roaming around in Beacon, "Kane... what're you doing here?"

"Well, believe it or not, I'm actually here for the Vytal Festival Tournament," he answered, continuing before Blake could respond, "I may have forgotten to tell you that I'm a student of Atlas."

The faunus raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes, though don't take my lack of sight as a hindrance, there's more to me than meets the eye," he pointed to her, shaking his finger slightly before withdrawing it. Kane then gestured to the two behind him, "Miss Belladonna, I'd like to introduce you to my teammates."

The one on his left, a girl around Ruby's height with her hair pulled back in a short, blue-colored ponytail, wearing a surprisingly casual attire, with a pair of short swords in their sheathes and a mechanical box-shaped device hanging from her waist, introduced herself first, "Artemis Dawes, not much else I can say about me."

Huh, Blake could relate to that.

Then the other: a tall and bulky, auburn-colored short haired young man wearing a dark orange leather jacket, grey military slacks, combat boots, and a large axe hanging off of his back from a single strap around his torso. He held out his hand, which Blake shook somewhat hesitantly, "Willow."

"Alright, now that we've introduced one another, we must get going now. The dinner line isn't getting any shorter," Kane said, turning around to walk way, "Would you like to join us, Miss Belladonna?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine, I've got some leftovers from yesterday that need to be finished anyway."

He nodded, "If you insist."

Before he could take another step forward, Blake realized something, "Wait, Kane!"

"Yes, Miss Belladonna?"

"You've only introduced yourself and two of your teammates, who's the fourth?"

"Our leader is Haytham Kenway, I'm sure you know him, he's a good friend of Shay. Together, we form Team HADK of Atlas," he answered before finally disappearing from view, "Now if you don't mind, we really have to leave, our leader is saving a few seats for us as he left early and it would be unwise to let them go to waste."

Blake stood there for a second, somewhat stupefied by the revelation of Kane's leader.

She would've spent more time making ridiculous conspiracies regarding Shay and Haytham, but for now, she had to return to team RWBY's dorm.

She needed to think clearly about this... this whole dilemma about the White Fang.

She just needed to think.

 **-Uphold the principles of our Order, and all that for which we stand-**

 _Afterwards..._

Shay entered the dorm with a cocky grin across his face while Weiss held a devious smirk as they entered the room.

"You guys cheated!" Yang growled as she followed right behind the pair as they all entered the room, "Why didn't you tell us that you guys formed a secret alliance in the first place!?"

"Because it wouldn't really be secret if we told you in the first place," Weiss pointed out, as she closed the door behind them.

"Well... she has a point, Yang," Ruby admitted before glaring at both the young man and the girl whom he had formed a secret alliance with in their match against the two siblings.

As they all conversed, Blake got up from her bed and made her way to the door, shooting a suspicious glance at Shay as her hand reached for the knob. The Templar retaliated with a confused look as he spotted the girl's expression.

"Stop," Weiss interrupted Blake, breaking away from the conversation to speak to the raven-haired faunus.

Blake stopped in mid-turn, her hand curling up slightly as she complied. She gave off a almost-unnoticeable sigh as Weiss began to speak again.

"Lately you've been quiet, anti-social, and moody-"

"Have you now realized that this is the same Blake you just described?" Shay asked with a tone of sarcasm, resulting in a haymaker to his ribs, courtesy of Weiss. The Templar let out a slight grunt before pressing his hand to the injured spot, "Alright, I felt like I deserved that."

"-Which I get is kind of your 'thing'," the heiress air-quoted the words, "But you've been doing it a lot more than usual. Which, quite frankly, is unacceptable.

You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong," Weiss continued.

"So, Blake Belladonna! What is wrong!?" Ruby and Yang watched as Weiss immediately went from standing on their level to performing an impressive flip and immediately balancing on a chair that had been nearby just a few seconds ago, with the white-haired heiress pointing at her in a demanding tone.

Meanwhile, Shay was off to the side helping Weiss balance the chair before putting it back after she got off and landed directly in front of her faunus teammate.

"Have you guys been actually practicing that?" Yang raised an eyebrow while Ruby was just plain dumbfounded by what just occurred.

"No comment," Shay responded, not even bothering to turn and meet the blonde-boxer's eyes directly.

Blake hesitantly raised her hand, trying to not pique Weiss' curiosity any further, "I just... I don't understand how everyone can be so calm."

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it," Blake answered with an exasperated look on her face.

Shay sighed internally. Of course she was still thinking of that day. She was once a member of the White Fang, so it'd be clear that she wouldn't stop thinking of something as dangerous as them.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsman, I'm sure they can handle it," Yang tried to reason with her.

"Well I'm not!" she yelled, "They don't know the White Fang like I do."

The other three looked at one another, while Shay spoke out their thoughts, "She has a point. You obviously know things that most others that aren't part of them wouldn't know."

"Well, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells-" Weiss began to explain, while Ruby just gave a confused 'who?' to Weiss' previous choice of words.

"Actually, Weiss, make that four. I was also part of that involvement with Blake, so I'm just as involved as she is," Shay pointed out, giving a subtle nod to the faunus, "I've not only seen their forces up close, but what Torchwick is also capable of doing; and trust me, I don't like it."

They watched as Weiss let out an irritated huff,"Fine, but let me once again be the voice of reason: we're students. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"We're not ready!" the heiress attempted to convince them.

"And we may never be ready!" Blake countered, her voice growing to match the girl before her, "Our enemies aren't just going to sit down and wait for graduation day."

They watched as she pointed off in a random direction, "They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready... or not."

Ruby looked at Weiss, then at Blake, before deciding to do this in the most civil way possible: through the power of _**democracy!**_

"Okay," the girl raised her hand to get their attention, "All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses (and Shay) to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale-"

Shay watched as the girl suddenly made a menacingly terrifying face before it resumed to a more... normal expression before finishing, "-say 'aye'."

"Yes!" Yang's hand clenched into a fist before pointing at her partner, "I love it when you're feisty!"

The former Assassin wasn't going to say anything about that... he won't assume anything, he will insinuate nothing!

"Good to see we're finally making progress," Shay leaned against Ruby and Weiss' bunk, "Maybe we're about to receive a lesson that this academy _can't_ teach us."

"Well, I suppose it could be fun," Weiss gave up and agreed, while Shay was in the process of getting back up.

Ruby gave the Templar an irritated look and crossed her arms, letting out an indignant huff, "Shay, the **one** time you don't say 'aye'."

"Aye, what of it?" Shay mimicked her stance, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow after the red-haired girl's response.

If one were to look closely, someone could almost see the gloomy storm clouds hanging over Ruby's head. Her eyes hidden beneath her hair as she felt her sanity start to strain.

"Alright then," Ruby sobered up from her temporary gloominess as Blake finally smiled, "We're in this together."

"Let's hatch a plan!" Weiss rolled her eyes and grinned at Ruby's enthusiasm.

"Yeah!" Shay did the same as Yang shared her sister's enthusiasm.

Ruby's excitement turned to despair as she gasped and realized one important detail, "I left my board game in the library!"

"Jesus Christ/We're doomed," Shay facepalmed while Weiss shook her head in disappointment.

"I'll be right back!" Ruby yelled as the rest of team RWBY watched as she bolted out of the room.

As Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Shay were left to their own devices. Ruby, being the most perceptive person in all of Beacon, accidentally bumped into someone without looking at what was in front of her, causing her to fall over and land on her back with a dull thud.

"Oof!" Ruby groaned, shaking off her the daze that came to her before looking up, "Ow, sorry, my bad. Are you okay...?"

Standing before her was a tall imposing figure dressed in strange armor. The apparel itself look very much the type of armor that an old samurai would wear, though there were a few key differences. The cuirass was bounded with a strip of leather that covered the top half of his(? It was really hard to tell these days) chest. His legs were covered by normal fabric pants held up by a knot of red rope acting as a belt, but were also protected by loose cuisse (hey, that rhymed! Probably...) armor, which was colored dark blue with rectangular plates covered in traces of dark yellow accents, that also covered his feet were protected by boots that looked a lot like Shay's shoes. His bracers and gauntlets were conjoined and bound together with a thin line of rope, with a small bit of the gloves' leather flaps stuck out. The spaulders covering his shoulders were dark and segmented, matching the rest of the armor, which was colored with a variety brown, bronze, faded gold.

The true difference started when she peered up at his helmet, which wasn't the traditional 'sneering face' face mask she was so familiar with. It was blank, more like helmet than an armored face mask, covered in slits that allowed the wearer to see.

All of this, Ruby gathered in under a second... hey, she may have been a weapons geek, but she could share a mutual liking for armor too! Though that thought faded the moment she laid eyes on his weapon that just so happened to be hanging from his hip: an uchigatana with a hilt just half the length of the blade, which was at least a metre long.

 _'Now that's a katana!'_ Ruby thought, surprised by the design of the blade. For a second, she thought she caught a glimpse of the blade as a sliver of the sword peeked out from it's sheathe, the metal gave off a blue-green luster.

Before she could even have the chance to gawk and drool over such a fascinated weapon, her thoughts were interrupted by an almost inhuman grunt from the figure before her.

"Um... what?" Ruby tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Sorry about that," another voice, a feminine one, said. The little redhead turned to see a green-haired girl and a silver-haired boy appear behind the man, both of them wearing academy uniforms,"Li doesn't really talk much when he's nervous. And I speak on his behalf when I also apologize if her scared you, he doesn't really like wearing the uniform."

The figure stared at her for a second before turning his gaze back to Ruby, who was then pulled up off the ground thanks to the girl.

"Well, sorry anyways," Ruby replied, a little embarrassed for running into someone, "Um... I'm Ruby. Are you guys new?"

"Visiting from Haven, actually," a new voice made itself known as the owner of said voice stepped forward, revealing a girl bearing amber eyes, almost illuminating through the shade her dark, ashen grey hair provided.

They watched as she gave them a confused look for a few seconds, getting a sense of deja vu as she looked at the girl. She immediately brushed it off as her expression shifted to realization.

"Ooh, you're here for the festival," she exclaimed, "But exchange students have their own dormitory."

"I guess we just got turned around," the silver-haired boy said, he grinned mischievously.

Ruby failed to notice the wicked smile, laughing in relation to their dilemma, "Oh, don't worry, happens all the time. But not to worry, your building is just east of here."

"Thanks," the amber-eyed girl and the rest of her teammates passed by Ruby, "Maybe we'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe," she called out to them as they walked away. Their last teammate completely ignoring her and striding alongside the other girl, his hand placed cautiously on the pommel of his blade.

"Oh, and welcome to Beacon!" Ruby called out to them as they continued walking away.

The girl watched as they turned and walked through the next hallway, disappearing from view.

 _'Well... that was something,'_ Ruby thought to herself as she continued to stand in the middle of the halls. Wait, what was she supposed to be doing again?

Ruby pulled out her Scroll as she felt it ringing in one of her pockets. A message from Weiss... uh oh, that can't be good.

 _'Ruby Rose! What in the world taking you so long!?'_ it read. What's she talking abou- oh...

"My board game!" Ruby screamed as she sprinted towards the library through the use of her Semblance, "Don't worry Remnant game! Ruby Rose is coming to save you!"

* * *

 **Disclaimer: And that concludes this chapter of the Hunter.**

 **As always, being my own critic of my work. This seemed a tad dull, so I hope my own original inclusions into the story made up for that.**

 **Speaking of which, the book that Shay had picked out. Not only will it fill him in on some of the lore going on in RWBY (whether or not he actually believes the 'Maidens' story is up to how much of a skeptic Shay is... but then again, he's in no position to outright deny every piece of nonsense put in front of him. I mean, he literally came back from the dead thanks to the help of a precursor), I may or may not have included it just for the sole sake of filling it up with some (ignore 'some', that's bullshit) references to a certain series of games (one of which is somewhat similar to RWBY).**

 **If you can spot the references, name which game it's from and what it alludes to.**

 **Baphomet's armor is also a direct reference to the same series, so see if you can spot that too.**

 **Also, as of now, I'm going to be focusing more on this story as it is my first and should be given more attention IMO. So for now, progression on Belladonna and the Bat: Asylum (a Batman Arkham series and RWBY crossover), RWBY: The Gunman (an original RWBY story taking place four years before the events of RWBY), Sand and Steel (a Fallout and RWBY crossover), and the untitled Dark Souls/RWBY story that may or may not be in the works will have to slow down for a bit. **

**My apologies, I hope you understand.**

 **Finally, if there's fan art of this story, let me know. I'm an author, not an artist, so I sure as hell will appreciate the fuck out of whoever would be making art of this and thank them for their contribution. Does this sound desperate... maybe? But come on, I'm a fanfiction writer, there's a fifty-fifty chance I also creep around DeviantArt... okay, wrong choice of words... I uh... I browse around? Yeah, that's the word. Yes, they suspected nothing!**

 **TL;DR, would appreciate art of this, that is all.**

 **So now that that's out of the way. Make sure to let me know what you think of the story.**

 **Keep an eye out for the next chapter as I will get to work on making another after this, and as always, stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


	20. Chapter 20: One for all?

**Q &A: **

**KEO : I don't remember what your question was. You'll have to PM me so I can answer it. **

**Darkstar01FTW:** **Thank you very much, though I have seen a story where one of the main characters also takes part as well. I don't remember what it was called, but it was an RvB/RWBY crossover, that's all I know.**

 **Matthew:** **Well, there's more, but it's nice that you found some.**

 **Guest : ... ****...** **...** **... No.**

 **dndkeg : Oh, I have something in mind for that, just you wait. **

**Gaspachu: Nice, nice. There's also references to Lorian and Lothric, Dusk of Oolacile, the Four Kings of New Londo, the Abyss Watchers, the Furtive Pygmy, Kirk and Quelaag's sister, Ebrietas the daughter of the cosmos, and last but not least: Havel the Rock. (CAN YOU SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?!)**

 **Ultimate-Zelda-fan:** **Nope, it's a reference to Sir Alonne in DS2's Scholar of the First Sin. But points for effort.**

 **As everyone can tell by now, I'm a huge fan of the Soulsborne series. So let me just get that out of the way.**

 **Thedemonoverlord238:** **I've had that part of the story planned for quite a while, nice that you noticed.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Hello everyone, welcome to another chapter of The Hunter, it's twentieth chapter! **

**I couldn't thank everyone enough and I couldn't have made it this far without you guys.**

 **Now, enough of this feels-trip and onto what you guys have been waiting for!**

 **Onwards into the story!**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, Professor Port's Class  
11:50 AM  
Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0). **

The first school day of this week at Beacon. Students would move to and fro from their dorms, finishing breakfast and going to their first class, move onto the next, and repeat until until lunch comes, free time, continue a few more classes, more free time, then wait for dinner. Rinse and repeat until the weekend arrives.

At least, that's what Artemis thought as she continued to attend this academy as a faux exchange student. She would've been thrilled to hear that she would be returning for a second chance at a proper education, as her misdemeanors in Atlas were left on her permanent record, resulting in her being expelled and preventing her from attending a different academy, much to her dismay as the girl had attempted that when she emigrated to Vale.

But honestly, from what Artemis was currently seeing right now, she could only think one thing at the moment.

 _'Atlas was better,'_ she softly groaned, her head resting in her hand as her arm leaned onto the desk as she was failing to even put any effort into paying any attention to Port's lecture, though the word was a rather loose definition of what he was actually saying.

Her old academy was much more straightforward, focused more on discipline, while hands-on combat was common and more mandatory than Beacon's free time brawls in their combat classes.

But Artemis was probably just thinking this because she enjoyed being top dog in Atlas' sparring classes. Who knows? Maybe she'll earn a reputation here.

Though that thought would come to a screeching halt as she scanned the room with her watchful eye, catching sight of three certain individuals: Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, and Yang Xiao Long.

Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY, one of few among being the youngest to attend Beacon Academy. Her Semblance being capable of increasing her speed a hundredfold, carries one of Remnant's deadliest weapons. Though her registration was probably recognized by a robbery she had attempted to stop.

Artemis would know, she was there as the receptionist of a hotel nearby, it'd be nearly impossible to hear the gunshots of a fifty-caliber sniper rifle from that close by, unless you were either deaf, stupid, or both.

As for her scythe... ha! Just because something's dangerous doesn't mean it's practical. The scythe was only limited from semi-short to mid-ranged strikes, her sniper modification compensating for longer ranges. To properly incapacitate her, it would involve having to get close enough for hand-to-hand combat, which Artemis assumed that the redhead was sod all at.

Next was Mistral's representing champion and emigrated student, Pyrrha Nikos. Known as the "Invincible Girl", commonly for her rather long winning streak. Though it was probably her Semblance... whatever it was. Her weapon changing between a spear, a rifle, and a sword; while a shield was held in her offhand, which she also used to perform rather impressive feats with such, making it just as deadly as her primary weapon.

A few nitpicks over the girl's high heels, the weak-points that she had left herself exposed with just for the sake of aesthetics and appearances, though nothing to complain _too_ much about. After all, she made it this far.

And lastly was Yang Xiao Long, little Ruby's older sister and the most notoriously known in all of Beacon. Ruby was known for getting into Beacon early (which pretty much told Artemis about her capability), Pyrrha was a world-renowned fighter, but Yang Xiao Long?

Yang Xiao Long? She was just straight-up dangerous. A fiery semblance (whatever it was anyway) that was only matched by her temper and vigor to fight. Shotgun gauntlets capable of doing tremendous damage, Aura-user or not. Artemis had heard about a destroyed club and a blonde semi-scantily clad girl leaving said club through a window smashed by the unconscious body of the club's owner, her information brought to her by none other than Kane himself.

Seriously, how he even manages to bring her this information before it even hits the news both frightens and astounds her. But she wasn't complaining, the bat faunus may have had good hearing, but that sense can only stretch so far. How does he do it?

Putting that thought to the side to ponder on later, she still kept her focus on the blonde boxer just across the room, who was too busy dozing off in the middle of class.

So much for deadly. Though the blue-haired girl couldn't help but feel a little envious and a little... flustered, by her. A mane of sunflower gold hair, muscles that could crack a Beowolf's skull into pieces yet still be gentle enough to carry a teammate away from the battlefield (ie. her sister), eye reminding her of violet flowers, long legs envied by some while loved by others, and most of all, the girl being blessed with a set of-

"Arti, are you alright? You've gone all red," she heard the gravel-like voice of her comrade beside her. Artemis glanced up to see Willow looking down at her with a face of genuine concern. They really **were** as close as siblings, even more so than her actual siblings.

The D in HADK gulped instinctively. Is she really red? Like, blushing red? Rather than answer directly, she only gave the young man a fierce scowl, to which he responded by scooting away from her a bit.

Artemis Dawes wouldn't get flustered over some blonde-haired, boxing... tall, strong... amazonian... no, shut up! Stop it, brain!

 _'Gah, if Apollo could see me now,'_ she groaned inwardly, leaning into the desk in an attempt to focus on the Professor, yet at the same time reminiscing about her older brother, the fortunate prick that continued attending Atlas Academy.

She needed something else to focus on, but where? While her ears focused on Port, though a bit bored by his excuse of a lesson, her eyes scanned once more through the crowd of students. Rose continued doodling on a sheet of paper, Belladonna was reading a book underneath her portion of the table (clever girl). Artemis decided to skip past Yang for more... personal reasons, moving onto the others. Shay say beside Blake, though he seemed to have fallen asleep.

The rest of HADK consisted of her and Willow, who was actually paying attention, surprisingly; Kane who really didn't have a choice in the matter; and Haytham, who was writing something down on a sheet of paper before putting it into a binder.

Ren paid attention, though minimally, while his ginger-haired partner failed to even focus at all. Seriously, Atlesian students made this place look like a summer camp.

Except Team FNKI... they were the exception...

Anyway, Nikos was also paying attention to the professor, though she could tell that the Invincible Girl's attention was taking a toll. Meanwhile, Jaune was off to the side, just now attempting to chat with a half-bored, half-focused Weiss.

Okay, this looked interesting. An average Beacon student attempting to speak with the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

Now, Artemis had met Weiss Schnee only twice in her life. The first was when the girl's father had been debating on whether or not she should attend Atlas' Junior Academy (think of it as the Atlesian equivalent of Signal), to which he decided that she would be privately tutored.

The second was during a concert. It wasn't bad, but Artemis had no idea that the girl had a decent singing voice.

"So Weiss, you know, uh... I was thinking that after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" Artemis heard from nearby, raising an eyebrow at his attempt, yet the boy still persisted.

As the blue-haired girl listened, she rolled up the ends of her sleeves, feeling that they were too large for her. Atlas may be a big and mighty kingdom, but they failed in getting her measurements.

Note to self: cut sleeves when there's a chance.

"And, you know, well... I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie if you want to make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome," Jaune continued, while Artemis stifled a laugh as she started to focus more on the conversation just nearby.

Seriously? The boy wants to take the high-classed girl to a cheap action movie filled with somewhat catchy one-liners?

Heheh, that's cute.

"And... maybe after that, we could study together?" he attempted once more, though rather weakly, "I mean, you're smart, and I'm a, you know-"

Before he could make a fool out of himself any more, the bell rang, interrupting the professor's tale of himself, and snapping the Schnee back to reality.

"Weiss? Did you hear me?" Jaune asked, watching as the girl grabbed her Scroll, stand up, and begin walking away like the rest of the students around her.

"No, no, no, yes," she answered, walking away without missing a beat.

At that moment, Artemis burst into a fit of giggles, then began to hold it back as she grabbed ahold of her abdomen to ease the stress she was putting on her stomach due to copious amount of laughter.

Though the moment was killed as soon as she felt an elbow shove into her side, courtesy of Willow, who stood up and waited for his partner to follow.

"No reason to laugh, Arti. The boy's already a social idiot, no need to kick him while he's down," he scolded as the girl stood up.

"Hypocrite," Artemis shot back, pushing her seat in and following beside her philosophical brute of a teammate, "But seriously, why isn't he aware of the one girl that's actually attracted to him? I mean, she's right there, dropping hints that even you of all people can see!"

The auburn-haired man decided to ignore that last part, "Boy's probably never experienced having a girl being attracted to him before. I'm willing to bet that the reason he doesn't consider her is because she is renowned and, therefore, popular. He thinks that she's... how do I put it? 'Out of his league', no?"

Arti tilted her head to the side in thought, looking up at the ceiling at the same time, "Pretty good guess. Or he's just not attracted to her."

"Yeah, that too. But I doubt it," Willow then shook his head and grinned, "Look at us, we're gossiping, acting like normal students."

"I wouldn't consider us normal, as we're training to be Huntsmen and Huntresses," she said before pulling at the hem of her uniform, "Damn skirts... why can't the academies give girls an option for pants?"

Willow only shrugged, grinning at the sight of the girl who was now wearing a skirt for the first time in years, "Probably how nature intended it to be."

"Can't we trade? You've worn them before in Mistral," she huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at his smile, watching as it shifted into a frown.

"One: No. Two: Those are skirts, I wore kilts back in the swamps."

Artemis only rolled her eyes, "Oh, tomato tamato."

Willow only gave her an irritated sigh as they passed by Team RWBY on their way out, with Yang previously attempting to comfort the boy.

Artemis turned to see Blake giving her a cold glare, to which the only girl in Team HADK responded by grinning mischievously and waving at her harmlessly as the two left class.

As the two continued walking down the halls, the girl's Scroll ringed. Artemis pulled it out and turned it on to be greeted by a message from Kane.

"Come on, Willow," she grinned at the message before putting it away, straightening up the tie on her uniform, "We have a mission to attend to."

"Team RWBY's dorm?" Willow asked.

"Why do you ask?" Arti raised an eyebrow.

"No reason," he responded quickly.

A little too quickly...

"Does it have anything to do with their leader? A miss Ruby Rose?" the young man gulped unconsciously, giving off an expression that could only be described with distraught, daring not to meet his teammate's eyes, though he could tell that her previous grin only grew wider with each passing second.

"Well- um... I-"

"Relax, Willow, I was messing with you," she slugged him in the arm before leaning in closer, "Don't worry: your secret is safe with me."

Artemis watched as he stopped for a few seconds, staring at her with the hardest glare imaginable, "I feel nothing for her."

"~Never said you did!~" she sang before picking up the pace before Willow decided to form any murderous thoughts in that big head of his.

Artemis didn't want to die, she had a meeting to attend!

 **-Never share our secrets nor divulge the true nature of our work-**

 ** _Beacon Academy, Team RWBY's dorm  
_** ** _2:00 PM  
_** ** _Day 18, Sunday (Month 11, Year 0); Yesterday._**

 _The first two days after their plan was quite a blur. Classes felt faster, time felt shorter. It was almost as if fate itself was anxious on seeing what would unfold._

 _Shay himself sat at one of the tables in their dorm, drawing stuff down on a sheet of sketchbook paper, the book he checked out laid in the corner with a bookmark around the first few pages of it. Ruby was currently sitting in her bed, reading a comic book with a bunch of people in a forest titled ' **Camp Camp** '. Blake was laying down reading a book in her bed as well. _

_He was starting to see a pattern here..._

 _Shay then realized that Yang was the exception as she was in the middle of the room playing video games. But where was Weiss?_

 _"Alright, everyone. I got your clothes ready, how do they look?" Weiss suddenly asked as he heard the sound of a door suddenly closing. Shay turned around to see the alabaster-themed heiress standing at the dorm's entrance, holding up several hangers with one hand, with a set of clothes hanging from each one; with a slip of notebook paper in the other hand._

 _Oh right, she was out organizing one part of their plan. Since they usually used their normal clothes, Weiss took the time to purchase alternate outfits in case the others got ruined. The team knew what they were doing and they had no idea what to expect in the event that things go downhill._

 _His clothes were shifted towards the Templar's hands, where he moved to a mirror to display both himself with the clothes held out in front of him. Weiss watched as he removed the ribbon from his hair and placed it on the table._

 _To Weiss, when she saw his hair tied back for the first time, it looked good on him. But after seeing it for so long? She preferred him without it._

 _She waited for about a minute for Yang to pause the game, look at her, and say **"Among other things..."** , yet that failed to happen, fortunately._

 _Ruby jumped off her bed, landed with a soft thump, and quickly made her way to Weiss to look at her outfit. Everyone then watched as Ruby gave a quick ' **I love it!** ', snatched it out of her hands, then used her Semblance and dashed into the restroom with it, closing the door with a loud slam. Blake only nodded in approval, while Yang smiled and gave her a thumbs up. _

_"How much was this?" Weiss looked at the man as he asked her as he looked at his own set._

 _"Depends, how much would you normally pay a homeless person?" the heiress gave off a ghost of a grin as she watched Shay pause for a minute and frown, "I'm kidding, Shay. But seriously, how is it?"_

 _The former Assassin looked at it, turning it over once more to get a full view, "Not bad."_

 _"Really?" Shay looked up to see Weiss, who had now huffed and possessed a look of irritation on her face, "That's all you can say? 'Not bad?'."_

 _"Oh shit," Yang whispered in an amused voice, earning an equally unamused looked from the faunus beside her._

 _Shay gulped for some reason as he looked into her anger-filled eyes, then watched as she began to turned to walk away._

 _"Weiss, wait," Weiss froze in mid-step as she felt Shay's hand clasp around her own, preventing her from leaving as he stood firmly in place, "I'm sorry."_

'Oh my God, this is really happening,' _Blake and Yang thought simultaneously as they watched this scene unfold._

 _She inhaled deeply and turned around, only to see her partner's expression turn to that of a frown._

 _The Templar sat down at the foot of his bed, letting go of her hand and placing it on the clothes that were still on their hanger, "It's nice, I like it. I just didn't know what else to say since, well... we're using this for some unofficial and most likely illegal mission that only we know about."_

 _"Make that us too," a new voice made itself known from the entrance of Team RWBY's dorm, causing Weiss to yelp in surprise, Blake and Yang to suddenly turn to the source of the sound and take defensive stances, and Shay to sigh and place his head in his hands._

 _At the doorway stood Team HADK. Or to Team RWBY: Haytham, Kane, some short blue-haired chick, and a ginger giant of a boy._

 _"Kane, what're you doing here?" Weiss asked, confused by the fact that one of her old friends (or at least a... former friend) that she had recently met was now standing before them._

 _The bat-eared faunus only turned his head in her direction before shifting it back to the others, "Well, dear Schnee, it seems that Shay had forgotten to mention us. I apologize, but allow me to introduce Team HADK of Atlas."_

 _They watched as he turned and placed his hand onto his chest, "I'll start first by reintroducing myself. Kane Hart of the late Hart Trading Company. The young lady beside me is Artemis Dawes-"_

 _"Yo," she waved before winking subtly at one of the girls, though at least one of them swore that they saw Yang raising one of her eyebrows._

 _"Our leader, as you all may know already, is Mister Haytham Kenway," the blind faunus motioned to the tricorn-hatted man beside him._

 _"So Haytham's the leader of your team?" Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow up in suspicion, "And you just so happened to have run into us just days before?"  
_

 _"Seems like it's a little more than a coincidence," Blake added._

 _Haytham was about to retort, though Kane held up a hand, "No, dear leader of mine, this is my problem, I'll deal with it as I see fit," he turned his head back until it faced both the heiress and the faunus before him, "You see, the world's a rather small place, and as it just so happens, Vale's capitol is even smaller. I knew that a team like yours would attempt to observe us and get an edge in the festival, so I decided to a little... reconnaissance for my team."_

 _"So all this time...?"_

 _"We had the same intentions, my dear," he then pointed to Blake, "As for you. I seem to recall a similarly described girl at the docks due to a few... connections, so I asked myself, 'Now what would a normal, human girl be doing at a robbery orchestrated by the White Fang, unless-" he gasped mockingly, "She was more than meets the eye,'." _

_Even Yang had to groan internally at Kane's extremely subtle pun. That was too dark, even for her._

 _But then again, "What do you know about Blake?!"_

 _Kane's eyebrow shifted under his bandages, "Enough. The nose knows, my dear, and I smelled a faunus, cat to be exact."_

 _"Why exactly are you here anyway?" Blake glared fiercely at him, wishing that_ Gambol Shroud _was within arm's reach._

 _"All in good time, I have one more person to introduce," Kane shook his finger from side to side in disapproval before raising his arm to motion to the last man beside him, "This, my dear, is Mister Willow Anoran."_

 _Before the giant could speak, the door to Team RWBY's bathroom flew open, revealing their leader in her new outfit, "TADAAAAA!... Wait a minute, what's going on? Yang, who are these people... hold on, Kane?"_

 _The faunus chuckled lightly, "So you remember me? I'm touched, truly, I am. I... I apologize for my actions the day we met, it was uncalled for. Anyway, this is Team HADK, Haytham's team that I have been a part of for quite a while, Miss Rose. To my left is Artemis Dawes, and to my right is Willow Anoran."_

 _"Hey there," Artemis spoke again, giving a small wave._

 _On the other hand, Willow was speechless. He just continued to stare at the small redhead currently before him._

 _"Hey, um... Willow, was it? Are you okay?" Ruby tilted her head to the side in curiosity._

'Is that Willow's heartbeat that's speeding up?' _Kane thought to himself as his ears picked up the anomaly from his teammate._

 _"Willow, speak up, man. Don't make a fool of yourself," the faunus lightly tapped the man's leg with his walking stick, causing the young man to flinch and look at the girl once more._

 _"S-siwmae lass, name's Willow, what's yours?" he hesitantly asked._

 _"Ruby Rose," Ruby answered, watching as he nodded in approval and earned a smile from the girl._

 _"Anyway," Haytham finally spoke, "Now that that's out of the way, I believe we can reach an agreement here."_

 _"What're ya talking about, Haytham?" Shay asked, confused by the Templar's words._

 _"We heard what you said, Miss Belladonna, and we agree fully. In short, we want to help," Haytham continued, despite the skeptic stare from the faunus, "Before you decide to decline, I must state my case first."_

 _Blake opened her mouth to disagree, but she decided not to speak and let the man have his say._

 _Haytham cleared his throat, "I believe that Team HADK should be involved not only for our assistance with Miss Belladonna's involvement with disrupting the White Fang's operation, courtesy of Kane, but for what we could provide. Miss Rose, I believe your team had a plan for this mission of yours?"_

 _"Um, yeah? I think? We're kinda just winging it at this point?" Ruby replied awkwardly._

 _Meanwhile, the majority of her team resisted the urge to facepalm (excluding Yang)._

 _"Ah, I see. In that case, I believe that we may be able to assist. Once a more thorough plan has been sorted out, we can assist in your endeavors. Each of us taking part as an important role. And for my last point, Blake. If we are separating, then I believe that we must rely on strength in numbers, but not enough to stand out."_

 _Blake raised an eyebrow once more at him before sighing, "I... I guess I can think it through."_

 _"Excellent-"_

 _"But I won't guarantee that I'll say yes," she gave one last glare._

 _Haytham inhaled deeply, "Of course, this is your team's plan. Your team should decide who will go and who won't. Until then."_

 _And with that, they turned and left the room; Willow turned and took one last look at Ruby before leaving. Their leaving left an agitated Blake, a suspicious Weiss, a concerned Yang, a confused Ruby, and a neutral Shay._

 _"What just happened?" Ruby asked._

 _"We may have a few uninvited allies joining us," Weiss explained, sitting down at the edge of her bed, "If Blake agrees that is."_

 _"Shay," the aforementioned faunus finally spoke as HADK had just left the room._

 _"Hmm?" Shay looked up at the girl, who held a pleading look on her face._

 _"Can you trust them?"_

 _He nodded, "I've known Haytham for a long time, he's one of the only few I can truly trust."_

 _"Besides us," Yang butted in._

 _Shay scrunched his face in thought, "Well..."_

 _"Shay!" Weiss yelled before receiving a long bout of laughter from the former Asssassin._

 _"Relax, Snowflake, I'm joking," he shook his head in amusement due to the girl's reaction_ _._

 _"Oh, so you're moving towards pet names already?" the blonde flashed a grin at the two of them._

 _"Yang!" the Heiress' cheeks blushed at a bright red before her attention shifted towards the girl, who had now gone back to playing video games on Shay's bed with a mischievous smile playing upon her lips._

 _"Don't worry, Weiss," Shay assured, "She's just trying to compensate for her lack of romance in her life."_

 _"Huh, makes sense," Weiss shrugged and returned to her bed, resisting the urge to grin as Yang's smile faded and shifted into a glare._

 _"I meant HADK," Blake interrupted their conversation to continue she and Shay's previous one, "Kane knows too much about what's going on, and I have a feeling his teammates know too."_

 _Shay sighed and leaned further into his chair, unsure of what to do._

 _Blake was right, Kane had her secret in the palm of his hand, so who knows if he would even take the opportunity to exploit that to get what he wants. Artemis and Willow had their own agendas, but nonetheless followed the bat faunus. Their loyalty to him was unknown, yet he feels like they could be trusted. As for Haytham, he was a friend of his, without purpose now that the Templars are nonexistent in the little world they live in._

 _"I would agree, Blake, but we've only met them for only a few brief times. You're right that Kane's acts a bit... eccentric with his ways, but a single team isn't enough to take on this mission."_

 _"Why not JNPR then?" Ruby asked._

 _"No," Blake shook her head, "They weren't involved in this, it should stay that way."_

 _"Which is why it's a good idea for HADK to help," Shay watched as a glare was shot towards him, "If you can't trust Kane, then at least put some faith into the rest of the team."_

 _"Is that what this is about?" Blake scowled at him, "It's not about Kane. Hell, you could care less about him. You trust Haytham so much that you want the rest of his team involved."_

 _"Blake, you know that's not what this is about," Shay got up from his seat while Blake got off of her bed to face the man._

 _"Then what is this about?" the faunus demanded._

 _"Guys...?"_

 _"No, I want to hear it from him," she glowered at him, "What is it, Shay?"_

 _"We need all the help we can get, or at least help that has a history with the White Fang," Shay answered without missing a beat, "I believe Weiss was right when she had said we were just students, yet I knew that this wasn't enough. We needed more help, and it was their team that found their way into our plans."_

 _"Right, they walk in just as soon as we announce that we're going on a mission," she replied in a sardonic tone._

 _"That wasn't deliberate, Blake. Weiss was the one who walked through that door, there was no way we would've known," the former Assassin finished, "Trust me, Blake, I didn't know."_

 _Her glare continued to press onto him for a full minute. Shay could almost feel the anger behind her expression, like a fire poker being pressed against his own mind as it continued to be assaulted by such raw emotions._

 _Immediately afterwards, Blake only turned around and left, "It's too crowded in here, I need some time alone. If any of you need me, I'll be in the library."_

 _And with that, the door closed shut behind her. Meanwhile, the room was dead silent. No one even dared to speak as the girls' attention was focused on Shay, as Blake had left their dorm. They could only watch as the man sat back into his seat, his head in his hands as a single thought passed through his mind._

'What did I get myself into this time?' _he thought as he continued to stare at the door._

* * *

 **Disclaimer: So I have just accomplished my first cliffhanger(-ish), and I'm not sure whether to feel proud of that.**

 **In all honesty, I apologize that this isn't as long or as action-packed as the other chapters, but I have to get something out of the way.**

 **As I stated before, this chapter is now my twentieth one written. Usually, on some my other pre-planned stories that never made it to the light of day, I stopped at the tenth chapter at most. **

**So all I wanted to say was, thank you for taking the time to read this story making your own comments.**

 **This chapter is shorter not only because a chapter involving the planning, preparation, and acting of the entire mission would take too long, but because this is in honor of my first chapter, which was at a meager 4k words (trust me, that is only a little from my point of view), and this is a 5k, which is close enough. The past few were around at least the 7000 word marks.**

 **As for action... well, I just though that I didn't have enough character development throughout the story. Though it's possible to incorporate both action and ever-changing emotion into this. I just felt like there wasn't enough.**

 **Also, I had meant to finish and release this on the same day I had written my first chapter, but some trouble arose and I couldn't work on this until now. At least I was able to release this on the same month, so that's something.**

 **And the now-brewing conflict between Shay and Blake... it's just getting started... and I'm also pretty shite at writing argumentative scenes such as that one, so cut me some slack (or don't, I'm open to criticism and am debatabely a word masochist to that type of shit).**

 **Next is whatever's going on in Artemis' head over Yang... meh, it's 2016, I had other plans for her (though they were a bit dull), but I thought, "Nah, too boring. Let's see what happens when I deliberately pull the rug under my own feet and jump right into the unknown fuckery that I could accomplish on the fly. Let's do this shit!" That's what basically went on in my head.**

 **And Willow? Well, I'll leave that open for debate on his thoughts on dear little Ruby Rose. And yes, he said "Siwmae" because one: I fucking love that word; and two: I feel like Wales doesn't get enough recognition in this place (or at least, I haven't tried to look). So yeah, now that's out of the way. (At this point, you can pretty much tell that Willow is Ireland's, Scotland's, and Wales' lovechild, but I digress).**

 **If you have any questions, please ask in the review section or just PM me. Keep an eye out for the next chapter as I will be getting to work on the next one in a little bit (and trust me, there will be action in the next chapter).**

 **Overall, thank you all.**

 **And as always, stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


	21. Chapter 21: RWBY Joins the Hunt

**Q &A: **

**KEO : We'll see man, well see...**

 **Z2010Deadmeat : Thank you very much, I appreciate it. **

**BrutusSilentium : Thank you as well. **

**King** **Edgar: Hey! You're back. I was wondering where you had gone. **

**Guest:** **Alright, I'll admit, this made me laugh a bit.**

 **And no, I'm too lazy to get a bio. Maybe some other time.**

 **Guest:** **Thank you, and you are welcome for you somehow finding it and getting hooked onto it.**

 **Rankin de Merthyr:** **Before I answer your questions... finally, some constructive criticism! Thank you so much!**

 **Alright, your first comment: I never really noticed, honestly. I'm sorry if it's like that, but it never really occurred to me that the writing and pacing would be like that.**

 **And second: Well, I made use of Eagle vision because it's a canon thing in Assassin's Creed. As much as it feels like "cheatsy-doodling", I'm doing my best to stray from what could be considered "sod-all-cringey".**

 **My sources? Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Unity (ugh, I know, right?)**

 **Edward Kenway (from the Wiki. Yeah, I know, sue me.): " _I've seen its like before. Glowing like moonlight on the ocean. Ah! Right, I know this feeling. I have since I was a lad. It's like using every sense at once, isn't it? To see sounds and hear shapes. Quite a combination_."**

 **Unity speaks for itself, as it's shown near the beginning with some markings and stuff... sorry, I've been trying to forget about that Assassin's Creed game, as the entire plot is more confusing than the script to Inception and the cinematography of Interstellar (at least compared to the other games). **

**As for the "Blue Place"... yeah, you got a point, I've been meaning to getting rid of that and trying for something more realistic, but I haven't gotten around to it. As for the Assassin-y Creediness of the story? Well... I've got a few tricks up my sleeve so far.**

 **Nevertheless, thank you for your constructive criticism.**

 **Betabomber:** **Your wish is my command, I finally fucking managed it. Thank the gods!**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:** **Artemis' case is obvious if I haven't hammered it into the dialogue enough. Willow will not be explained, only by what the people interpret. No, not pedophilia, there's a word for it but I'm too much of a lazy fuck to go ahead and search it up.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **Sorry if I haven't updated recently, important stuff's been going on at my place. Besides that, Dark Souls 2 and 3 have been eating up my time as well as schoolwork and just being plain lazy, my apologies.**

 **Decided to switch a few gears into the story, hope it turns out for the best.**

 **Ad Victoriam, onwards into the story, and may the flames guide thee.**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy, Team RWBY's Dorm.  
12:00 PM  
Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Weiss pursed her lips as she gazed at her outfit in the mirror, taking note of her form as the trench-coat/dress combination surprisingly accentuated her figure quite nicely. Though the heels were a bit shorter, that was barely a problem. She turned around to look at the others with each of their new outfits, now realizing that she would probably have a lot to explain when the company receives an order for several outfits that don't even fit her.

 _Great,_ she thought bitterly to herself before grabbing ahold of _Myrtenaster_ and sheathing it.

"Is everyone ready?" the heiress asked the other four before her. It was better to make sure one was prepared before a mission, rather than find out before it's too late.

Blake nodded, her hands tightening the black ribbons around her wrists, "I thought that class would never end."

"What was the lecture even about anyway?" their only male teammate called out from the restroom.

And as expected, since their little bout from yesterday, Blake chose not to answer him. It seemed since that day, she's been a bit... how would Weiss put it? Moody? No, she's always been moody, especially since that little incident regarding the docks.

No, she's a bit colder than usual.

Weiss paused and waited for Yang to have the nerve to make a pun. Thankfully, she didn't, as mind-reading was not on the list of semblances for Team RWBY, that is unless Shay could shape-shift into a mind-reader.

"If you've been paying attention, Cormac, then you would've figured out that Port was speaking of the dangers of capturing live creatures of Grimm," she scolded the man from afar, taking note to punish him for some way for dozing off in the middle of class.

Speaking of which, Weiss listened as the young man stepped out of the bathroom. She turned around to see him in the clothes that she bought for him (and that adds another explanation she would have to make to the company): a white hooded sweatshirt underneath a navy blue jacket (minus a hood); a red sash around his waist, just underneath his belt, which held up a pair of baggy tan slacks. Covering his feet were a pair of black boots

"Never was good at finding hidden meanings in hour-long speeches," Shay countered, straightening the sleeves of his jacket.

"No, I suppose not," the girl waved off before turning away, her hand hovering over her rapier, "Also, try not to dirty those. Do you know how much those outfits cost?"

"Well, we're going on a mission that'll involve getting our hands dirty," Yang pointed out, "It'll be impossible to have them come out in a decent condition."

Weiss only huffed at the girl's rebuttal. She had a point.

"It's alright, Weiss," Ruby interrupted, trying bring some much needed optimism into the room as she pushed herself off of her bed and onto the floor, "The important thing is that today's the day! The investigation begins!"

Weiss rolled her eyes in amusement, "Glad to see that we're taking this _so_ seriously."

"Well, we've got a plan," Yang pointed out, "And it's a good one, so that counts. Willing to bet HADK couldn't make a better plan."

Everyone turned their heads as soon as they heard a knock on the door.

"Speak of the devil," Shay muttered, not noticing Blake's unamused look before she headed to the door and opened it.

Unsurprisingly, it was team HADK that had been at the door.

 _And he shall appear,_ Shay thought as they walked into the room, noticing the presence of unwelcome that the girls around him shared for them.

Weiss got a glimpse of Kane as he continued to follow. She watched as he turned his head in her direction, a humorless smirk on his face.

The heiress gulped silently, unnerved by the bat faunus' actions, despite him being blind.

"Haytham," Blake said as he stepped in first.

"Miss Belladonna," he responded, nodding to her as he passed by, allowing the rest of his teammates to fill in the spaces in the room before closing the door, "So, has a plan been made?"

"Of course," Weiss answered, "Ruby and I will head to the CCT and check Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm obviously part of the family shouldn't make it a problem."

Blake spoke up this time, "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get it, I will be able to find out what they're planning."

Next was Yang's turn, "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that knows just about everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard, and that's not just because Checkers here is coming with me."

"Checkers?" Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Me," Shay sullenly raised his hand, "Yang came up with a nickname after all the others were of no use... I don't think it's all that clever."

His response earned him an elbow to the side, delivered via Yang. The young woman had a full appreciation of her puns, and she wouldn't dare let anyone go unscathed from insulting them, teammates be damned.

"Couldn't find anything for Shay to do alone?" Kane asked, the bandages over his eyes bearing intrigue in the same way someone with sight would eye them.

Blake shook her head, brushing past the bat faunus' curiosity, "Shay's better working alongside Yang, just in case something goes wrong in Yang's case."

Weiss couldn't help but give an almost hidden smile as she noticed the blonde's subtle eye twitch at Blake's response, "I really shouldn't have told you that story."

"You brought it up for no other reason than to pass the time."

The two shared a bit of an awkward tension for a brief moment. The team vividly remembering the story that Yang shared when they had been bored at some point in the day. Ruby had shared her experience with discovering her semblance, Weiss recounted a training exercise with one of her mentors (though there was a strange effect that it had on her), Blake had told them a bit of her past before the White Fang, Shay spoke of a humorous little tale between him, Haytham, and a good friend of his named Gist.

As for Yang? They all had to listen to the story of her walking into a bar, demanding answers from someone named Junior before bruising his balls and trashing his entire club, earning a fair amount of notoriety in Vale's shadier parts of the city.

"Anyway," Ruby broke the silence, "After all is said and done, we'll all meet up with Shay and Yang and go over what we've found."

"Sounds like you guys'll need a little more help with that," a new voice made itself known.

Every member of RWBY but Shay flinched at this new presence, "Sun?!"

"Who's this?" Arti asked, slowly reaching for one of the blades near her hip. Willow decided to place a hand on the girl's shoulder, shaking his head in disapproval.

"A... friend of mine," Blake answered, choosing her words carefully, "Don't worry, he knows about our situation- well, at least a small bit of it until now."

The monkey faunus chuckled nervously at the raven-haired girl's mentioning of him

"How'd you even get up there?" Yang asked, breaking the awkward moment that lasted for only a few seconds.

"Ah, it's easy," he waved off, "I do it all the time."

"You do what!?" Weiss yelled in response to the monkey faunus' confession.

"I climb trees all the time," Sun answered, shrugging off the Ice Queen's hostility.

Shay held back a laugh at what Weiss had misinterpreted, though her eyes still drilled promises of bloody murder at the blonde-haired boy.

"So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" he asked, entering the dorm through it's window, landing with a slight thud.

" _We,_ are going to investigate the situation," the cat faunus responded, "We already have more than enough people in this plan."

"Hey, there's no such thing as more than enough," Sun retorted, pointing his thumb at the window, "That's why I brought Neptune."

Everyone peered out to see the blue-haired boy, who just so happened to be standing over a narrow ledge leading into Team RWBY's dorm. A majority of the people in the dorm could see the small traces of panic adorning his face, though he managed to keep his cool so far, "Sup?"

 _You, apparently,_ Shay wanted to say, thinking that his joke would earn a laugh from at least one member of the team. Fortunately, he kept his mouth closed, not wanting to get hit by Ice Queen again, no matter how weak in comparison her punches felt.

Compared to Yang, he meant.

"Now how did **_you_ ** even get up here?" Yang asked, thinking that the guy was either really brave or extremely idiotic for attempting to pull off such a stunt. Though she decided to retract her statement, as she remembered a certain dare that Shay agreed to after Initiation. To this day, the brawler still didn't know why she would make up such a ludicrous dare like that; Yang Xiao Long may have been a thrill seeker at heart, but there were times where Shay had a tendency to be a little damn crazy.

"I have my ways," the boy responded, looking back down at the steep drop before him before looking back at the rest of them, "No seriously, can I come in? This is a _very_ long drop."

Minutes later, both Sun and Neptune had made their way into the girls' (and Shay's) dorm. Team RWBY standing on one side of the room, HADK standing on the other, while the two members of Team SSSN stood in the middle, just a tad close to the windows.

Haytham turned to the girls with a concerned look, "Well, it seems that they already know."

Blake only hummed in acknowledgment, smirking with amusement at the monkey faunus, "There's no sense in stopping them, they'll just find a way to get involved again."

"Tenacity?" Weiss guessed, crossing her arms and eyeing the two with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep," the faunus girl answered, putting emphasis on the last letter with a sound _'pop'_.

 _Feeling's mutual,_ Haytham thought, knowing the feeling all too well from another temporary ally of his.

"Guys, we're right here... listening to your conversation on us as though we're invisible," Sun reminded the pair (though an edge of sarcasm was traced along his reminder) as he waved to them, only to watch as they paid him no mind.

"Alright, so what's your involvement in the plan, Haytham?" the faunus asked, waiting for their response as both teams stood in silence.

Rather than let the Templar speak, another had decided to do so for him. This new source taking the form of a certain stubborn blue-haired girl, "Kane and I'll stay up top in a crow's nest in the center of Vale, the top of the abandoned Dust quarry refinery's got a whole view of the place, just stopping short of Beacon. Contrary to what you see in the guy, he's a pretty good spotter."

"How-"

"Try not to think about it," Kane reassured before the question could be answered, bending the segments in his walking stick and putting it into a sheath in his vest.

Haytham turned to the girl with a bemused expression, "As I was saying: yes, this part of the plan would belong to both Kane and Artemis. Willow will accompany Miss Rose and Schnee."

It was the heiress' turn for bemusement, "Last time I checked, Haytham, I didn't need a bodyguard."

Shay did his best not to stifle a laugh, managing only because of the ice-cold glare, courtesy of Haytham. The former Assassin merely shook his head afterwards, a smile adorning his face as he had watched the man being berated by Weiss. Haytham's glare continued to bore into, with Shay subtly shrugging in a 'not-my-problem' manner.

He would have to prepare himself, however. He knew that Haytham would get back at him somehow.

The Templar snapped out of his silent conversation with Shay and nodded fully, "Agreed, Miss Schnee. But, much to my surprise as well, this was Willow's idea."

Everyone turned to look at the former lumberjack, who looked back at all of them with simple glance, "Needed to see meself in some use. The rest of yeh already took the good ones."

"Excuses, excuses," Artemis muttered under her breath, only to receive a light jab to the side by her partner.

"As for me," Haytham began, removing the tricorn from atop his head, revealing the pair of fox ears that was now for all to see, "I will be accompanying Blake on her mission as well, seeing as I'm the only... faunus on this team. "

Blake almost opened her mouth to retort, only to realize the lack of fallacies in his logic. Instead, she remained silent and nodded in agreement. Though she and the young man may not exactly be the best of friends at the moment, baby steps would have to be taken: allies at best, it seemed.

"What about Sun and Neptune?" Ruby asked, breaking the sudden silence between the two. They turned to look at her as she spoke, "Now that they know, I think it'd be a good idea to assign them to one of us as well, right?"

The two guys in the middle of the room nodded quickly, approving of her question.

"She's got a point. We know, and frankly, we want to help," Sun responded, failing to notice Weiss, Haytham, and Blake facepalming.

Before any argument could be made, the youngest finally spoke up once more, "Alright then. Sun can go with Blake and Haytham, while Neptune can go with Shay and Yang."

"What? Don't think I can handle myself, little sis?" Yang smirked cheekily at her, crossing her arms over her chest in faux suspicion.

"Nope, I think you can handle yourself just fine," the boxer's little sister answered before lowering her head, her silver eyes looking as though they were glowing underneath the shadow produced, " **Believe** me, I was there."

It was at that moment when everyone in the room shuffled a little bit away from Ruby, wondering why they were now a little nervous towards her at the moment.

"Good idea," Weiss coughed, interrupting yet another awkward silence, her smile spreading wider as she spoke "It'll make it easier for Shay to hold you back when you decide to blow up another nightclub."

" **LEMME AT HER!** " Yang screamed in rage as she dove at the heiress, only to be held back by Neptune and Shay as they pulled her back by her arms yet was still flailing her legs in an attempt to maim the white-haired girl.

The girl's smile turned into a full-fledged grin, "Oh good, you guys are practicing already. Make sure to keep it up to prevent any unwanted hazards. Ruby, Willow; let's go," everyone else (besides her two aforementioned companions) only stood in a mixture of emotions consisting of surprise(Shay), amusement (Blake), rage (Yang), and shock (everyone else).

"Clever girl..." Kane chuckled to himself before reaching and grabbing onto Artemis' arm, "All right, that's all said and done. Artemis, if you would oh-so kindly lead the way."

That left Neptune and Shay, Blake and Haytham, Sun, and a slightly, yet quite literally, steaming Yang.

"Okay," Yang sighed, finally calming down completely, "Let's get to work."

"No need to tell me twice," Shay nodded as the remaining six finally left.

As they all left, Shay unholstered a pistol from his coat and handed it to the Templar beside him, "Haytham, you'll need this."

Haytham cautiously held the pistol in his hand, "Quite a design, what is it?"

"I picked it up at that incident at the docks I told you about. Ruby told me it's called a 'semi-automatic' pistol. Able to fire more than one shot before reloading," Shay explained, pointing to the silencer on the pistol, "This, as far as I know, suppresses the sound of gunfire. I'll see if I can teach you how to use it."

The young man nodded, depositing it into one of his coat pockets, "Thank you, Shay."

"No problem," the former Assassin waved off as they finally split up, following their respective teammates, "I'll see you soon Haytham."

"And you too," he nodded, though the man stopped once more and looked to his friend as Blake and Sun failed to break her pace, "Shay!"

Shay paused as they were about to diverge, Yang and Neptune continued walking away, "Yeah Haytham?"

"May the Father of Understanding guide us," Haytham spoke before turning and following after Blake and Sun.

"May the Father of Understanding guide us," Shay echoed, shaking his head in amusement as he caught up with Yang.

 _It's good to see Haytham again,_ the former Assassin Hunter mused to himself as he continued.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us indeed-**

 **Dust Refinery, Vale's Industrial District.  
2:00 PM  
Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"You sure you don't need anything to drink?" Kane asked from one of the lower floors.

"I already told you, Hart, I got all I need right here," Artemis answered, shaking a canteen from the belt on her hip. The girl looked away from him and looked through the sights of her rifle, catching a look at the trio of students walking to the CCT tower from roughly a mile away: Ruby, Weiss, and Willow, "Alright, I see them."

The two teammates of HADK sat at the makeshift spire of the Dust refinery, the tower itself was divided into several floors before reaching below to the abandoned warehouse itself. The blue-haired girl sat at the very top on a folding chair, her legs propped up on the railing while an unfolded sniper rifle sat on one of the lower rungs, the owner's all-seeing eye peering through the scope.

"What's Willow doing?" Kane asked, the dart in his hand placed delicately between his fingers.

"Pfft, talking with team RWBY's leader," the girl chuckled, "Don't know what Willow sees in the girl. She's naive, childish, and an idealistic little kid."

"Which is the reason why he's never fallen for you," that earned a huff from the girl, "But I guess that's the thing he likes about her. Her optimism for change: the White Fang, the Grimm, crime, the very concept of corruption in it's rawest form, these are things that the girl seeks not to get rid of exactly, but to save people from. Her drive to make the world a better place than it is now. And frankly-"

The Bat faunus released the dart as he launched his arm forward. The sharpened object hurtling at high speeds before embedding itself into the dartboard, hitting it smack in the center, "-I think that's what the world needs now."

Arty rolled her eyes at his claim, choosing to change the subject, "Did you get a bulls-eye again?"

"What do you think?"

"I honestly gotta know," the girl began, "How the hell are you even able to do that? It's gotta be a Semblance or something."

"Nope," Kane shook his head, "I already told you so many times and you're too busy focusing with your eyes to pay attention, rather than your ears."

Arty sighed, letting go of rifle, and turning to face the young man, who had made his way up the stairs and stood before her, "Alright, shoot."

"Echolocation," Artemis raised an eyebrow, "Something Bat faunus are inherently born with, though we haven't been able to use it ever since artificial light sources were invented."

"What about those times where you're able to know things about us? And don't dodge the question this time, I want to know how you were able to find out I was originally from the Borealis Canyons."

The faunus sighed, dragging his fingers across his face in agitation, "I just can't tell you at the moment."

"And why's that?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You left the radio off," Kane said, turning around and walking back down the stairs.

Artemis tilted her head in confusion at his words before realizing what she'd forgot to do, "Dammit!"

Kane only listened as she fumbled for the radio in her bag, trying to hook everything up into place as fast as she possibly could before finally turning it on. Artemis concentrated as her fingers began to play with the knobs and buttons on the device before finally finding the right frequency. Afterwards, she raised her rifle once more and peered through the scope, "Gotcha Willow."

 _"-M-mi-*static* Miss Rose, tell me-e-eE *static*-"_ Artemis bumped the device with her foot, _"What kind of weapon is that on your back?"_

"Perfect," the girl grinned as the sound from the radio played in sync with the scene playing out between Ruby, Weiss, and Willow.

"You are aware of how indecent it is to spy on your friends, right?"

"Friend, singular," she corrected, "And yes, I know damn well. Wanna listen?"

"Oh hell yes, I can't miss this," Kane grinned, breaking his stoic demeanor for a half second before pulling out a nearby folding chair and sitting beside his teammate.

 _"My baby Crescent Rose here is a fully customized high-caliber sniper rifle,"_ Ruby said, the radio recording her speech as Willow walked beside her. Artemis watched as the girl removed the rifle's compact form from her waist and held it gingerly in both of her hands.

 _"What caliber?"_ Willow asked.

"Seriously, that's the best you could do?" Kane's eyebrow shifted underneath his bandages, though he was speaking more so to himself, as the ginger-haired giant was currently unable to hear him from their distance.

 _"Fifty caliber. So, uh... what do you use?"_

 _"Hm?"_ the man hummed before finally realizing her question. Artemis watched as he unclasped his axe from his waist, a mid-sized one-handed weapon wielded in his right palm, _"My old axe from my days in Mistral. Modified for combat against the creatures of Grimm and fires eight-gauge shotgun shells, as well as slugs."_

 _"Isn't that a little too much kick for a weapon that small?"_ the red-haired girl asked, the weapon looking just half the length of Crescent Rose in it's scythe form.

"Someone doesn't know Willow all that well," Arty smirked.

"To be fair, they only met just yesterday," Kane retorted, earning a light punch to the shoulder by the girl, "Alright, enough of that, let's keep hearing this thing."

"Don't have to tell me twice," the girl snorted as she continued peering through the scope once more.

 _"Don't underestimate Lunia,"_ Willow shook his head with a small grin on his face, _"There's more to her than meets the eye. She's been by my side for over a decade. I wouldn't trade this axe for any other weapon in the world."_

 _"Well, no need to chit-chat about our weapons, we're still on our way to the CCT,"_ Weiss interrupted the two.

"Buzzkill," Arty, Kane, and Willow muttered simultaneously as the heiress, the leader, and the lumberjack made their way to the CCT tower.

"Hey Kane, I'm willing to bet Schnee Sr.'s probably compensating for something with a tower that big," Artemis' grin grew even wider.

"Hmm, if memory serves me correctly when I still had sight, then yes, I think you're right," the young man laughed as he envisioned the size of the Cross-Continental Transmit in Vale.

 _"By the gods, this place is huge,"_ Willow said, awed by the size of the same tower that Artemis and Kane had joked about previously, _"How have I missed this of all places in Vale?"_

 _"There's a bigger one in Atlas,"_ Weiss replied, unknowingly causing an uproar of laughter from a mile away.

 _"Wasn't that the first one?"_ Ruby asked, picking up the pace and walking beside Weiss. Willow on the other hand, picked up his pace behind the two, his axe resting on his shoulder as he continued holding onto it's handle with an iron grip.

 _"Correct, Atlas developed the Cross-Continental Transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another,"_ the heiress informed, her Atlesian pride showing through her explanation, _"It was their gift to the world after the Great War."_

 _"Ooh, look at me, my name is Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich!"_ Ruby giggled as Weiss gave the girl a cold glare. Willow, on the other hand, whistled an innocent tune as he was not prepared to get involved in whatever argument was about to arise.

"And that's something to laugh about... how?" Artemis asked to herself, genuinely confused by Ruby's mock-haughty declaration.

"I can laugh at one of those things. Take a guess which," Kane grunted.

"Ouch!" Arty replied, giving the boy a sour look.

"What's wrong?"

"I just cut myself," the girl gave off a pained groan.

"On what?"

"Your edginess," Artemis deadpanned, ducking from an oncoming walking sick trying to make it's way for her head, "I get it, Willow gets it, I'm sure _everyone_ gets that you don't hold Weiss up to your highest respects. So please quit reminding us."

The Bat faunus gave out a loud sigh, "Fine."

"Good boy," she responded, looking back through the sights, "Now let's see what we mi- _aaaaaand_ Ruby's gone."

"What?"

"Yep, she's leaving with some orange-haired chick. And I mean _orange_ , the kind that would make Willow want to shave his head in utter shame."

"You mean in utter _shave_?" Kane grinned.

 _ **"Fucking don't,"**_ Artemis growled as she looked through the scopes, "That leaves one Weiss Schnee heading to the tower and one confused Willow who had been trying to figure out who to go with before finally walking with Weiss to the tower."

 _"Anything you need me to do, Weiss?"_

The heiress sighed, the two listening from the radio through Willow's bugged scroll, _"Just wait outside. If anyone suspicious comes in, just... make sure to tell me, okay?"_

Artemis watched as the man nodded, _"Got it."_

"Well, there goes our fun," Kane slumped into his seat, "And we've only got around a few more hours before Yang makes her way to the club, while Blake goes to some hideout."

"Shit, now I'm bored," Artemis pouted, pulling out her canteen and drinking from it, "Alright, you said you had drinks?"

"I said I could buy some, what do you want?" Kane asked, getting up from his seat.

"Get me something strong," she answered.

"Ditto," the faunus responded, "I'll see what I can do. You just sit down and fantasize about blondie."

The young man ducked as the girl's canteen went sailing over his head and collided with the wall, "I will fuck you up, Kane Hart."

"Looking forward to it," he deadpanned, descending down the stairs and disappearing.

"Asshole," Artemis growled before turning back to her rifle, searching for more stuff to look at.

 **-Never share our secrets, nor divulge the true nature of our work-**

 **Junior's Club; Vale's Commercial District  
9:00 PM  
** **Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)** **  
**

"C'mon," Yang pointed to the club with her thumb, grinning as she got off of her bike and made her way inside, "My friend's right in here."

"Last time I'm ever doing this again," Shay was next to push himself off of the motorcycle, snapping his fingers as he reverted back to his old form, though with the new outfit, having previously taken Weiss' form to accommodate for the amount of people on the blonde brawler's bike.

 _'Bumblebee can handle two people, but it can barely hold a third unless they're small enough,'_ she had once said. Though the Templar doubted that from the large smile that Yang possessed as the words left her lips. Small enough, his arse.

"Ditto," Neptune replied, nearly stumbling as he was the last to touch dry land once more, "Sooo... this is the place?"

"Aye, looks like someplace Yang would usually go to," Shay shrugged, shifting the shoulder fabric of his new clothes. Surprisingly, as well as frighteningly, his new outfit bore a remarkable resemblance to his old suit as an Assassin, though it had a touch of Remnant's modernism in it.

As the two men followed after the girl, they glanced as the bouncers near the entrance caught sight of her, watching as they clumsily ran into one another before entering the door and slammed it in front of the trio.

"Yep, this seems like the place," Yang grinned as she followed after them, with blue-haired boy and the Templar trailing behind her.

Yang grabbed the doors by their handles and pulled both open, giving off a dramatic flair as she walked past an empty counter where a receptionist would normally be. All three were now fully aware of the music playing ahead of them.

"Hurry! Close the door, she's coming!" Shay heard from up ahead, watching as the large doors just a few metres away began to slide shut.

"Friends of yours?" the Templar asked, looking at the girl with amusement.

His answer came in the form of the girl flushing in embarrassment, "Something like that. Remember that story I told you?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well..."

Rather than answer him, her gauntlets shifted to into their shotgun forms, surrounding her hands and forearms once more. Shay shielded his eyes from the blast as the door swung open, letting the blonde walk undisturbed into the rest of the building.

"Guess who's back?" Yang closed her eyes and grinned, only to watch as they all pointed guns at her, the safeties on the weapons clicking off audibly.

 _Well, I guess they all now have the brains to carry guns,_ Yang thought to herself as she opened her eyes to see the receiving end of a pistol. Rather than react in fear, she only turned to glare at the DJ, who's song was currently messing up as he left it undisturbed. The girl's expression shifted to a neutral mood as the bear-helmeted DJ lifted the needle off of the vinyl record.

"Yeah, you think you could define 'friend' for me?" Neptune asked, only to quiet down as the goons' guns raised higher at the sound of his voice.

"Stop! Stop, nobody shoot!" a man appeared from the parting crowd of thugs. The man himself was tall, his hair kept short, including the full beard on his face; wearing a black vest over a buttoned down white shirt and red tie, "Blondie! You're here... why?"

Yang pointed at the man accusingly as she approached him, pulling him away for a conversation, "You still owe me a drink."

"What about us?" Shay called out to the girl.

"And you brought friends with you... of course," the owner of the club (Shay assumed) muttered as he was continually dragged away to the bar.

"Shut up, Junior," Yang chastised the man before turning to Shay, "Find out whatever shady stuff is going on around Vale and relay it back to me when we're done."

"Whoa, what a woman," Neptune could only gawk and silently compliment the boxer from afar, only to turn and see two identical girls dressed in different outfits, "Sup."

Shay only facepalmed as the words left the boy's mouth, hearing the girls walk away with simultaneous disgruntled huffs, "Hmph, whatever."

Watching as Yang finally began talking with Junior, Neptune followed to accompany her. Shay, on the other hand, looked around for any other alternative means of information. Instead, he spotted a group of identically dressed thugs chatting with one another, an array of shot glasses lining the table and two bottles of a fiery-auburn colored liquid lay upon it as well.

 _Alright,_ the former Assassin thought to himself, straightening his outfit, _Let's see which one of these men will talk._

 _-Meanwhile, in another part of Vale-_

"This is it," Blake traced her fingers across a three-lined symbol, leaning over to see a pair of faunus being lead into a warehouse by a man in formal attire, who had bowed slightly and motioned to the door as they passed through.

The former Grandmaster tilted his head slightly as he leaned in beside her to get a look as well. From what he saw, it made sense somewhat. With a man dressed like that, there were very low chances that one might look twice and become suspicious, though the choice in area seemed more than awfully suspicious.

"You sure?" Sun asked, only to receive a deadpanned look from Blake, "You know what, I'm just gonna take your word for it."

Haytham watched as Blake began to remove her bow, finally revealing a pair of cat ears atop her head, _Ah, so that's what Shay was talking about._

"New recruits keep to the right," they heard a voice from afar.

"I don't get it," Sun began, holding a mask that he had picked up nearby, "If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?"

"The masks are a symbol," Blake started, catching Haytham's intrigue as he listened closely, "Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters."

"Grimm masks, huh? That's kinda dark," Sun remarked, looking down at the mask like it was a leper victim.

"So was the guy who started it," she replied.

"I would say it's rather grim," Haytham mused, picking up a separate mask and peering through the eye slits. He turned to see an ice-cold glare from Blake as she looked to face him, "What?"

"Stop it, I already get that from Yang," the black-haired faunus rolled her eyes in annoyance as she lifted another mask to her face, concealing the upper half.

"What did I say?" the Templar looked around, confused by the almost-hidden smirk Sun was trying to hide, "Did I say something amusing?"

"You sure that wasn't on purpose?" Sun only shook his head as he followed after the girl, placing the mask to cover the top portion of his head.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Haytham demanded as he finally put on the mask, only earning a silent mutter from Sun, "Dammit, Wukong, you better tell me what I just said."

Before they could pass through the door, one of the guards blocked Haytham, "Security check."

"Seriously?" Blake asked, watching as they looked at the man.

"Guy doesn't look like a faunus," the other guard responded before turning to face the Templar, "Faunus species and trait?"

"Fox," Haytham looked away for a second, the people surrounding him a bit confused by why he looked so flustered, "Ears."

"Would you be willing to show us? We need evidence that you are a faunus in order to pass. No humans allowed, obviously; otherwise this conversation would be more than a little different," the first guard demanded from the Templar, only to watch as Haytham slowly removed his tricorn hat, revealing his dark-orange appendages upon his head, "Alright, you're good, move along."

As they walked alongside the other faunus recruits, Blake moved over beside Haytham.

"You can put away the blades now, Haytham. You're safe," Blake whispered to him, watching his surprised reaction as he sheathed his hidden blades at her command.

"How did you know?" he whispered back, though his came out more as an interrogating hiss.

"Shay has his own, I just assumed you did too. Given that both of you are friends," she answered, finally stopping as the rest did as well. The trio watched as a large White Fang soldier began to pace around the stage.

"Thank you all for coming," the man said in a deep, gravelly voice, "For those of you who are joining for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long."

This 'special guest' made his way to the front and center of the stage. Haytham's annoyed expression over being in the presence of the enemy shifted into that of concern as he noticed Sun and Blake's shocked and enraged faces at the sight of this newcomer.

"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause," the man bowed as he finally stopped.

Haytham noticed this man's visible orange hair beneath his hat, a white jacket and black slacks, and a dark-grey cane with red accents. From what he could tell by his comrade's reaction, as well as from the crowd itself, that this man was most certainly a notorious figure.

A notorious _human_ figure, as the White Fang recruits made clear from their shouting, "What's a human doing here?!"

"I'm glad you asked, deer-y," the man grinned before looking towards the rest of the crowd, "Now, I'll be the first to admit: humans are the _**worst**_. Case in point-"

 _Oh, now this has taken a rather interesting turn,_ Haytham cocked his head to the side as he listened to the man's speech as this criminal referred to himself.

"-So I understand why you would love to see us all locked away, or better yet: killed! But, before the claws come out-"

"So, is he going somewhere with this or...?-" Sun whispered to the girl and voicing Haytham's thoughts simultaneously.

"-I would like to mention the fact that you and I ALL have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty rotten humans that run our kingdoms," he began to list off, "Government, military, even the schools; they are all to blame for your lot in life."

The former Grandmaster was impressed, yet disappointed all the same. A criminal, a _human_ criminal, had managed to successfully rouse applause from this crowd with only his charisma alone. A shame that such talent could've been used for good measure.

"-And they're all pests that need to be dealt with. Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... no offense to any rodents in the room," the criminal finished before snapping his fingers, the tarp behind him was pulled away, revealing a large metal behemoth towering over everyone in the room.

Haytham couldn't help but gawk at the sheer size and complexity of the machine before him. So this is what Shay had been told him about: how far the world of Remnant had come in term of science and engineering. It was quite a feat, the only thing that seemed to tick him was the fact that it was in enemy hands.

"Uh... that's a big robot," Sun muttered in surprise and dread, voicing Haytham's thoughts once more.

"How did he get that?" Blake wondered, only to indirectly receive her answer from the criminal himself.

"As some of you may have heard, this right here-" the orange-haired scoundrel rapped his knuckles against the metal beast's leg, "-Is Atlas' newest defense line against all the scary things in the world... and thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they, uh... hit the shelves."

 _Stolen, you mean?_ were Haytham's and Blake's thoughts.

"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the south east. If you'd rather stay within the city... that's _fine,_ " the man's voice rose a pitch to emphasize another potential option, "But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in... this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

Instead, he was met with more applause and cheering, already proving that they were read for providing their loyalty and support for this man who would provide his help for their cause.

"Well, I think it's about time we take our leave," Haytham said to the two before him.

"Good idea," Blake replied, only to stop as they heard a new voice, one coming from a White Fang sentry.

"Will all new recruits please come forward!" the White Fang soldier commanded. The crowd began to shift forward, interceding with the trio's plan on leaving.

 _Well... fuck,_ Haytham gulped unconsciously as they all had no choice but to move onward. He could only hope that Shay and the rest of his group were faring better in their efforts.

 **-Uphold the principles of our order, and all that for which we stand-**

 **Junior's Club; Vale's Commercial District  
9:45 PM  
** **Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)**

Yang watched as Junior tipped his glass back before setting it onto the counter, closing his eyes in irritation as he looked up towards her, "I don't know!"

"How can you not know?" the blonde demanded, crossing her arms and looking at him with equal annoyance.

Earlier, they had discussed why she was here, though Yang made sure not to give him the specifics, otherwise he might snitch to someone unsatisfactory. Though the two had met through a rather... rough start, their conversations were actually pretty normal compared to other usual club owners that would probably have their faces pounded into dust and punched out into the streets. Rather normal _indeed_.

"I haven't talked to him," Junior started, looking up at the girl with an exasperated look, "I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back."

Then from out of nowhere, Neptune appeared beside Yang, leaning over the counter and giving the man a suspicious look, "So where did they go?"

Junior slowly turned to look at him in disbelief, "What kind of stupid question is that?! They never came back!," his attention then shifted to the blonde-haired girl, "Who is this guy?"

"Don't worry about him," Yang lightly pushed the boy aside, "Worry about me if I don't get what I want!"

"I've already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys and I guess he wasn't happy with them. **Which is something I can relate to!** " Junior yelled to his men, watching as they merely surrounded the place, lazily walking about the club devoid of people actually dancing.

Yang sighed before turning to walk away, "C'mon Neptune."

Neptune looked at Junior, then back to Yang before catching up with her, "We get everything we need?"

"Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck," Yang answered as they began walking away.

As they were about to make their way up the stairs, Neptune froze, "Hold on."

"Hm? What is it?" Yang asked.

"Um... where's Shay?" Neptune looked around, only for his jaw to drop in shock.

" ** _~WHAT WILL WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR, WHAT WILL WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR, WHAT WILL WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR EARLY IN THE MORNING?!~_** " Yang immediately whipped around to see what had shocked Neptune to begin with, only to do the same as well.

Instead, she spotted a wild-eyed Ruby Rose dancing on top of the tables with an empty shot glass in one hand and a half-empty liquor bottle in the other. Rather than being some sort of dance one would usually do at a club, this was something completely foreign. Ruby, er-Shay, she meant, did some sort of weird tap-dancing-thing, spinning around on occasion and dodging a hand from one of the thugs surrounding the table.

"Get off the table, you're ruining the game!" one of them yelled, trying to climb up and wrestle the shape-shifted Huntsman-in-training off the table, only to receive a hard kick to the face and a rough landing to the floor.

" _ ** _W_ AY HEY AND UP SHE RISES, WAY HEY AND UP SHE RISES, WAY HEY AND UP SHE RISES EARLY IN THE MORNING!~**_" Shay slurred in a terrible singing voice, causing Yang facepalmed hard as she watched him kick the living daylights out of anyone that got even remotely close to him.

The moment his sword was unsheathed, however, was the time she sprang into action, watching as her semblance and alcohol-induced teammate held the end of his blade pointed directly to one of the men's neck, "Shay, that's enough! Get down!"

Shay, in Ruby's form, cocked his head to the side before shaking his head quickly and holding his liquor bottle close, "Never! You're not separating me from my prize!"

"We have to go, we have to finish our mission," Yang's eye twitched in irritation before swinging her arm under Shay's legs, causing him to nearly fall to the ground, only to be caught by Yang as he was hoisted over her shoulder.

Neptune only took a step to the side as Shay's bottle fell from his hand, cracking and spilling the clear honey-colored liquid across the floor, " _NOOOOOOO!_ Yang, how could you!?"

"Shay, you're drunk," Yang sighed before putting down the transformed man, looking down at her now-crestfallen teammate, "How much did you drink?"

"I dunno," Shay hiccuped, "Maybe a few shots, one or two... or twenty-five..."

"Shay," Yang growled before dragging her hand across her face, "And for goodness sake, please turn back!"

The Templar looked up at his hand, curiously (as well as drunkenly) inspecting Ruby's pale hand before looking down, "Oh."

They watched as Shay stumbled backwards before being caught by Yang before he could hit the ground, he then snapped his fingers, turning into Weiss, "No... (snap) Blake, nope...(snap), Pyrrha, no...(snap), you (snap)-"

"Okay, you're good!" Yang stopped Shay as he reverted to his original form, now looking up at his six-foot something form.

Before they had the chance to turn and leave, Yang heard her scroll ring. She pressed a button to open it, answering it, "Hello?"

" _Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-_ " Yang quickly pulled away from the intensity of the volume, courtesy of Sun screaming in terror. Yang immediately grabbed Neptune's arm and sprinted out the exit and to her motorcycle.

"Wait, what about Shay?!" Neptune asked as Yang revved up her bike.

" _They got a robot, and it's big, really big!_ " Sun yelled, " _The Torchwick guy's in it! But not like, it didn't eat him- he's like, controlling it or something!_ "

"Shay's not in trouble right now," Yang answered, "He can take care of himself."

" _It's getting closer!_ " Haytham cried out from Yang's Scroll.

"Where are you guys?" the blonde received her answer in the form of loud stomping nearby and a giant robot chasing after three certain faunus', one of which was crying out in fear.

"I think that was them-"

"Yeah, I got it," Yang responded, pulling a U-turn on Bumblebee and chasing after the machine.

 **-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent-**

 **Vale Highway  
10:26 PM  
** **Day 19, Monday (Month 11, Year 0)** **  
**

 _ **God-fucking-dammit!**_ Torchwick grit his teeth, his fingers moving across the command screen of the Atlesian Paladin. The criminal grunted as the machine finally touched down onto a nearby highway, chasing after the two brats that had ruined his operation at the docks.

This was supposed to be a simple job, stupidly simple. All he had to do was convince a whole group of fanatic nutjobs that he was there to help. Appealing to the little guys? Check. Self-Deprecation? Check. Using oh-so carefully planned, practiced, and refined charisma to the point where said nutjobs began cheering a "supposed" ally that just so happened to be in the same category as the people they just so happened to hate? Check, check, and check!

So why, of all people to show up, did those two little twerps happen to make it to a faunus rally where he just so happened to be there? Why couldn't they just keep out of business they shouldn't have been in to begin with? But regardless, these kids made a mess of his plans and he was the one responsible to clean it up, starting with **them** , so little miss Cinder doesn't fire him, _literally_.

Then there was this new guy, the one with the tricorn. Roman didn't recognize him, but the obvious fact that he was leap-frogging cars with the two (though this one's attempts were a bit more clumsy) just hammered in the fact that this guy was on their side. So, this only added to the mess that's already been made.

Goddamn it.

Torchwick grabbed the controls to the Paladin and pushed forward, increasing it's speed as he attempted to catch up with the three. The muffled audio in the background giving off constantly honking cars and a motorcycle that was catching up to him. The crook activated the rear camera to get a look at who exactly was on said motorcycle, only to let an irritated groan escape his lips.

It was the same blonde-haired chick he recalled seeing at Junior's club a while back, right before leaving and hearing on the news that it was trashed by an anonymous blonde-haired girl, who had been seen leaving the area on a similarly-colored Valen Firebird 80 motorcycle, helmet included. If this is the same girl, then this just got a whole lot even worse.

The lock-on warning buzzing right next to his ear warned him of that. To rebuke, Torckwick pushed down on the Paladin's controls at full throttle, the mechanical legs beneath him speeding along the highway at breakneck speeds, cars pushed aside be damned.

The cockpit of the machine suddenly rumbled and shook violently, meaning a direct hit. Roman growled in frustration as he pushed onward. Though this only lasted for a few seconds as he was now aware of three metal spikes sticking out inches behind him, the blue light emitting off of them crackling with the dangerous sounds of electricity. Torchwick pressed a button to see through the rearview camera once more, this time seeing some blue-haired kid sticking a trident into the back of his Paladin Prototype, threatening to do more than just a little damage with that shock-stick of his.

 _Shit! Have to get this kid off before he does any more damage to this thing,_ Roman scowled, grabbing onto the control that directed the upper half of the machine and twisting it from side to side, experiencing the sudden shaking that the kid on the outside was probably feeling as well.

 _Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick!_ he shook his head, trying to clear any form of nausea from his mind. Where was a disposal unit when you needed one!?

While Torchwick was too busy shaking this kid off, he failed to notice blondie, the monkey one, activate his Semblance and send two yellow clones in his direction, exploding on impact. Roman diverted his attention from the brat on his back to see the monkey faunus speed towards him with his staff. Rather than just take another hit and risk more damage to the Paladin, he got the brilliant idea of spinning around, knocking one into the other as they were sent spinning off of the elevated highway.

"Well, I got that monkey off my back," the criminal chuckled at his own joke before looking back up to see another nuisance ahead of him. From the looks of it, even from his distance, this one was a Schnee, with the white-dress, the fancy weapon _and_ posture aimed directly in front of him, "Well, this'll be easy."

It wasn't until she used her rapier to summon a encirclement of ice, right in his direction. Roman could do nothing but facepalm as the Paladin went tumbling off of the highway and onto solid ground.

 _Can't believe I just jinxed it, 'This'll be easy' I say. Gimme a fucking break. What's next, Red looking for a rematch too?_ Roman growled as he managed to land the Paladin with perfect precision. Only to land right in front of Red of all people.

"Me and my big mouth!" Torchwick couldn't help but yell from the cockpit, watching as the rest of her team appeared.

 _Nevertheless, I'm on solid ground. Time to see what this puppy can do,_ he chuckled, pulling up the primary weapons screen with one hand and taking the controls with the other.

"Freezerburn!" he suddenly heard her yell. Roman could do nothing but give her a confused look as he watched the red and black-themed girls pulled back from the fight. It was at the time when the Schnee froze the ground and Blondie suddenly melted the ice into vapor with the sound of a shotgun going off when he realized what was going on.

Roman pulled up another command menu and activated motion-sensors. Red lights began to flicker about the area as they tried to pick up any sort of movement. Torchwick stepped cautiously through the mist that had now formed, being careful not to misstep and end up in a surprise attack. The Criminal used the monitor to peer through the cameras, seeing if he could find them himself, though to no avail.

One of the sensors gave off a soft whine near Torchwick's ear, causing him to force the machine in the direction it had sensed something, only to find nothing. Roman grit his teeth in frustration as more sensors went off, forcing him onto the offensive.

The machine raised it's arms and fired in the directions that had been sensed, catching flickers of red, white, black, and yellow as they flashed across his screen. He pushed down on the primary weapons button, trying to hit one of the huntresses-in-training. Though with a bit of luck, he managed to hit two: the faunus and Blondie, only for Red to cover the screen completely and push back the Paladin with that oversized gardening tool of hers.

"Checkmate!" she yelled, jumping back as the faunus and the Schnee entered the scene, striking at the machine's feet, pushing it back, much to Torchwick's dismay.

"Dammit!" Roman yelled within the machine as he reassessed his situation, focusing on one thing at a time. He noticed that the Schnee had stabbed out one of the motion sensors before falling back. Torchwick looked down to see Blake beneath him. He raised the machine's foot to squish the girl, only for the Paladin's foot to land on solid ground as the black-haired girl was pushed back with one of the Schnee's glyphs.

Roman decided to counter that move with the Paladin's heat-seeking missiles, all of the aimed towards the two girls before him. This provided him the opportunity to fire at them while they were busy weaving through something a little more distracting.

The Paladin's arms raised, charging up it's main Dust cannons before firing, hitting the Schnee with perfect accuracy. Roman grinned before firing another volley of missiles, only to watch with anger as yet another glyph had allowed the black-haired brat to slice through all of them as though they were nothing, traces of purple streaks splitting each missile into pieces before exploding behind the girl.

"Ladybug!" Red yelled once more, this time taking her entrance alongside the faunus. Both of their blades trading blow after blow with the robot's legs, causing it to stumble for a bit. Roman swiveled the machine's upper half to take a shot at the little scythe-wielder, only to watch her disappear. He looked up to see the two coming down and strike at one of the joints, severing the arm completely from the rest of the body.

"Don't you know how much this thing's worth?!" Roman screamed, though he doubted they heard him. Before long, something decided to make it's way onto his/the Paladin's back once more, deciding to play with the cockpit's metal shell as though it were a punching back. Torchwick wasted no time in pulling a full reverse on the robot, speeding backwards until he hit something that could get rid of whatever was on his back.

After hitting a few support structures and shattering them completely, he turned the machine at a full one-eighty before shifting the cannon arms on the machine into fists. The remaining arm reared back before slamming at the girl with full force, punching her through another support.

Immediately, Roman rushed towards the girl before she could get back up, raising it's fist up once more to put an end to this mess. However, all he heard was the sound of a rifle going off, a sharp clang, and the fist severing from it's body. Torchwick ignored what had been severed from the maching, already having looked up at the screen displaying it's condition: the right fist having been severed, leaving a handless slag of metal.

Using the Paladin's heads-up display to calculate where this shot had come from: the abandoned refinery. Torchwick used the last of his missiles and fired, not bothering to watch as they collided with the spire, causing an explosion in the distance.

 _Now, where was I?_ Torchwick smiled as he turned back to the girl, who was just now getting back up, only to let out a yell as two swords managed to puncture through the cockpit, the blades only a few inches away from both sides of his neck.

"Miss me, Torch-y?!" a slurred, yet familiar voice yelled as the blade withdrew. Roman watched as the... other guy from the docks, as well as the twerp working alongside the two faunus' leap off and land next to the team before him, stumbling slightly before managing to be caught by the boy in the blue overcoat.

Just as things couldn't get any worse, the criminal turned to deal with the blonde, only for the machine to have it's arm caught by the girl and be immediately punched off. Roman decided that enough was enough, wasting no time in sending a mechanical foot reeling into the blonde, sending her flying back once more.

"Bumblebee!" Red yelled again. Shay, at least that's what he remembered his name being, only turned in confusion to see the faunus throwing her gun to the blonde and pulling back as soon as she caught it. Torchwick backstepped as soon as he watched the girl circle around towards him.

"Ice Flower!" she yelled once more. Roman barely had time to respond as several ice crystals started to form around the machine, locking the joints in place and slowing down his movements.

He looked up to see the blonde girl moving towards him at dangerously high speeds, her red-eyes and a shotgun-enhanced fist that last thing he saw before the monitor went black, "Oh son of a bi-"

The mech was immediately thrown off balance and sent to the ground. Before he knew it, Torchwick found himself standing up to see pieces of the Paladin prototype surrounding him.

" _Just_ got this thing cleaned," the man grumbled, he turned to see another shotgun shell heading his way. He raised his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the blast, only to see a familiar face come to his rescue: Neo, though he noticed that the girl was a little roughed up, her clothes stained slightly with what appeared to be Dust residue. A fight perhaps? It didn't matter now.

What did matter was getting out of here without a broken everything.

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen, always a pleasure," Roman smirked at the group before him, managing to elicit an annoyed "hey!" from the Schnee, "Neo, if you would."

The girl gave them a devious smile as she lowered herself down, preparing to use her Semblance. Roman watched as the girl that destroyed his mech sprint towards the two and throw a punch at them, only for he and Neo to disappear, leaving behind illusions of the two.

Before they knew it, he and Neo found themselves in one of their oldest hideouts: an abandoned apartment block just for the two of them.

" _You look like you had fun,"_ the vertically-challenged ice-cream girl texted to her partner using her Scroll.

"Tell me about it," Roman sighed, landing onto an old sofa, "What happened to you?"

 _"Huntsman, at least, I think he was,"_ she answered, sitting beside him, _"Big guy with an axe, he put up a fight before you nearly got killed. Spoiled my fun."_

"I'm sure I did," the crook chuckled, earning an adorable glare from the girl before her expression softened, "Well then, that just proves you're not mad at me. So, any ideas for the remainder of the night? Movies? Cards?"

She nodded her head immediately, grinning a terrifyingly excited grin, _"I got a few. Follow me."_

Roman was immediately grabbed by the arm and pulled alongside the short woman.

He just hopes that Cinder doesn't plan on killing him after fucking up this bad on a mission.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy  
12:00 AM  
Day 20, Tuesday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"I flew today," Shay rambled, his drunken demeanor taking it's toll as Haytham and the rest of Team RWBY were forced to help him walk back to their dorm.

"That's nice, Shay," Ruby mumbled tiredly, helping in pushing the man into their dorm.

After Yang had to confess that Shay had drunken a large quantity of alcohol, Weiss and Haytham took it upon themselves to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. Needless to say, the rest of the team wasn't surprised.

Just as they finally managed to push Shay into their dorm, the remaining members of HADK passed by, with Artemis helping Willow limp back to their dorm. The blue-haired girl looked at the six before her, "Same problem?"

"That depends," Yang said, "Is yours drunk too?"

Arti shook her head, "Got his ass kicked by some short girl in brown, white, and pink."

"Was she carrying an umbrella?"

"Why, do you know her?"

"No, but she was there at the rally," Blake responded, before looking to Haytham, "We'll all compare what we found out after... this."

Haytham let a ghost of a smirk show as she motioned to Shay's barely conscious body, "Of course, until then."

Blake hummed in acknowledgement as he bowed slightly before leaving the room with the rest of his team. The faunus looked down at the former Assassin, "Get up, Shay. You need to get in the bed."

"Alright Weiss," he hiccuped.

"I'm Blake," she corrected, giving the Irish an annoyed look.

"Alright Yang," Shay corrected...ish, looking up at the girl with half-lidded eyes, smiling, "Oh, hey Blake, what're ya *hiccup* doin' here?"

The faunus sighed, giving up on helping the man, "I'm done here. Yang, your turn."

"Hey, I had to deal with him before that big Torch-mech fight," the blonde-boxer crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at Blake.

"Ruby?"

"You think she knows how to deal with drunks?" Weiss demanded, giving Yang her most incredulous expression so far.

"Well, she has dealt with our uncle," Yang pointed at Ruby with her thumb, who was already passed out on her bed, "And besides, she's sleeping."

"Alright then, why don't we-"

"She's. **_Sleeping_** ," Yang repeated, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

Weiss sighed as she realized the only option they have left, "Okay fine. You guys go to bed, I think I can handle this."

"Good luck, Snow Angel," Yang winked at her before climbing onto the top bunk.

"I will cut your hair as you sleep, Yang."

"I'll steal your credit card, buy lingerie, and mail the receipts to your dad," the blonde growled, her eyes glowing red before laying back down on the bed, "Don't threaten my hair."

The heiress gulped unconsciously, _Touche._

Weiss turned to the man sitting at the foot of his bed, his eyes glassy from his consumption of alcohol, "Shay, get up. We need to get ready for classes tomorrow."

He didn't respond. Weiss sighed once more and knelt down to face him, looking him dead in the eye.

"Shay, we need to-" Weiss' speech was interrupted as Shay suddenly leaned forward. She gave off a nearly-silent whine as his lips made contact with hers. Weiss pressed her hands against the drunken young man, trying to push herself away from him. Instead, she found her hands grasping onto his jacket and pulling herself closer to him, dipping back slightly as Shay continued to lean forward into the kiss.

A few seconds later, Shay found himself trying to hold in a laugh as the drunk managed to glance at a sputtering, blushing Weiss.

Before he had the chance to laugh, however, he received a hard slap to the face, "What the hell was that for, Cormac!?"

"You talk too much, Weiss. I needed some way to get you to be quiet," drunk Shay shrugged before flopping onto his bed, ignoring the red handprint that made itself known on his face, "And you better admit it, Snowflake, you enjoyed it."

Weiss considered slapping him once more, less out of embarrassment and more out of the suddenness of his actions, but she sighed and decided he wasn't worth the effort. Instead, she went into the bathroom and changed into her nightclothes. After she came out, Weiss saw that Shay had immediately fallen asleep.

The heiress decided to make her way to her bed as well, knowing that tomorrow would be another day of studies, and the day after that, as well as the day after.

 _On the bright side, today was quite a day,_ Weiss thought to herself before closing her eyes, letting sleep do it's job for her.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: And that concludes a pain-in-the-ass chapter, but I enjoyed writing every word of it.**

 **I'll be busy with schoolwork and upcoming Halloween (I may or may not be playing _Spooky Scary Skeletons Remix_ at full blast at the time. I'm not sure). **

**I would've gotten this finished sooner, but I have Dark Souls 3 and Ashes of Ariandel came out extra early for the Xbox One version (for those that have Dark Souls 3 and it's season pass that don't know this. Just install Ashes of Ariandel in the Xbox One search menu and it'll come up in the top-left corner after you install it. Talk to the kneeling man near the Cleansing Chapel Bonfire after beating the Deacons of the Deep).**

 **And holy shit, I'd like to say that this is the longest chapter I've written for a story so far. At a whopping 12k words, hot damn! I'm not sure how long I spend doing this, but I spent the first part of this chapter procrastinating, merely at around 2k words in two weeks. Then I decided to kick myself into full gear and write 6k in just 3 days. I then wrote the remaining 4k in just 6 hours. This is an achievement in my books. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I seriously appreciate it.**

 **Also... RWBY VOLUME 4's COMING OUT TODAY! HELL YESSSSS! ... I mean, yeah, RWBY Volume 4, looking forward to it.**

 **And Fan Art, if there is any that relates to "RWBY: The Hunter" in any way, whether you made it or found it, I'd be more than happy to see it.**

 **Anyways, that's all I wanted to say for now. Keep an eye out for the next chapter of RWBY: The Hunter. Make sure to Favorite/Follow, and Review.**

 **And as always, stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


	22. Chapter 22: First Hand

**Q &A:**

 **jhellou : Thank you, I appreciate the comment. **

**Darkstar01FTW : Well to be fair, if Yang had taken a video, people would've thought it was actually the real Ruby, only drunk. Now what kind of example would that show? **

**Guest : I can't access the links, dunno why. **

**Guest : Mm hmm... yes, now you have convinced me not to get Watch_Dogs 2.**

 **Betabomber56:** **That... will be taken into consideration.**

 **Jac** **k** **Redhawke: [Inhales deeply]**

 **...**

 **...**

 **This is the Roach99 Technical Support channel, if you have a complaint that you would like to file, please send your message to the story that you wish to speak about, I say this because I CAN READ THE REVIEWS OVER THERE TOO, OKAY!?**

 **[Exhales] Now that that's all through and done, next review!**

 **HeyMrJack33:** **Right about now, here you go.**

 **MrSgtElliot : Aw, after Chapter 7 is where it gets good! But I understand thoroughly, have a nice day. **

* * *

**Author's Notes:** **Not a lot of reviews this chapter... tis a shame. But nevertheless, onward I shall write for the sake of both entertainment and no reason!**

 **Onward to the story!**

* * *

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed.**

* * *

 _"Mister Cormac."_

 _"Pluto, it's been a while," Shay greeted the deity, pacing around the realm of his own mind and approaching the coal-haired man, who watched the Templar like a hawk as the two drew closer._

 _"Actually, my involuntary acquaintance, it 'as only been six days since we last spoke to one 'nother," Pluto corrected, "Though I understand the sentiment, it is... good... to see ye again."_

 _The Templar only raised an eyebrow and turn to look at the vast distance of his mind that housed the god, before turning back to face him once more, "Really? It seems like it's felt like months."_

 _"In that case, I presume that time really doesn't really 'fly' in your case," the deity attempted to break the somewhat thin ice before irritably sighing, "But on a more serious note, I believe that we must discuss your new... friends, and the case of one of your teammates... one in particular."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _Before he could receive an answer, Pluto only stuck out his hand and motioned towards him, "Take a seat first, it feels so off to just have a normal conversation while we're just standing about as though this was a formal event."_

 _Shay turned around to see a couch standing right behind him. He then looked at the deity with a look of shock._

 _"This is your mind, of course I am able to create something out of nothing in this place," Pluto deadpanned, "This land is your plaything, to create to your hearts content. Be it friends-"_

 _He snapped his fingers and a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke disappeared, his friends took it's place: RWBY, JNPR, Haytham, even Gist._

 _"Family-"_

 _The people he had killed, those that served the Assassin's Creed and all that came with it, had replaced his friends._

 _"Maybe, perhaps, even love-"_

 _Pluto snapped his fingers once more, the late members of the brotherhood disappeared, only to be replaced by a single figure standing before Shay._

 _A white dress of the most regal quality, an angelic face mimicking the likeness of snow, piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare into his soul, yet withholding any malicious intent, and a scar that traced over this beauty's left eye, adding onto her beauty, rather than hindering it. The figure proceeded to slowly and gently place her hands, which reminded him fondly of silk, against Shay, caressing the man's face with a smile that radiated pure joy._

 _Before Pluto could even have the chance to remark on the reveal of this figure, a fist collided against the side of his face. The deity stumbled back and clutch at his nose, pain swelling from the left side of his face as the man snapped his nose back into it's normal position. Pluto immediately straightened himself out as he glanced at the Templar's glaring face, his expression completely oozing of murderous intent if the precursor decided to speak of the... girl on more time._

 _He snapped his fingers again and the figure disappeared._

 _"Never do that again," Shay warned, his finger pointed accusingly at the deity._

 _"I see you're rather touchy on that subject, aren't you?" Pluto queried, the pain fading away completely, "Your love life, or lack thereof, whichever you consider it to be, is irrelevant in my case. I had originally wished to speak with you about Team Haddock, so that is what I still intend to do, now please: take a seat."_

 _Though a bit irritated (and somewhat embarrassed) by what Pluto had shown him, the man sat down at the seat provided. Pluto sat down on the opposite end in an identical seat._

 _"Alright, I'm listening," Shay said, eyeing the man with a concerned look._

 _"Good," Pluto responded, "Now, I understand that you have been reunited by a well-remembered companion from your past, though I cannot speak for the rest of your teammates, particularly this... Kane Hart."_

 _"Oh?" the Templar hummed, his attention now focused on what the precursor had next to say, "And what about him?"_

 _Pluto only shook his head, "I am unsure of this boy. He knows of your- our... exploits, your otherworldly origins, but most of all: a portion of your old order's history from your journal."_

 _"And what does that have to do with us? Neither the Templars, nor the Assassins exist here. Only Haytham and I..." Shay trailed off, his mind putting two and two together, realizing what the darkened deity was implying, "No... that can't happen."_

 _The precursor looked at Shay with a tilt in his head, "Ah... 'can't' is a strong word, Mister Cormac_ _, but I believe it will. Rome mayn't have been built in a day, but it was built regardless. It's only a matter of time before Haytham decides to catch on... or joins."_

 _"Why are you telling me this?"_

 _"I am merely warning you on base assumptions. Take my words however you wish, but stay cautious," Pluto advised before settling further into his seat, "Now, I wish to inform you on a more... internal affair."_

 _"Internal? How so?"_

 _"Your companion, Miss Belladonna, was it?" Shay nodded at Pluto's question, "Well, I understand that you two are on, well-... hating one another is one more strong phrase I wish to avoid, but you two seem to be avoiding each other as much as possible, is that correct?"_

 _Shay sighed, looking down at the ground, but he nodded nonetheless, "We had a disagreement over Haddock's involvement in the our plan. She had accused me of only letting them join only because of my affiliations with Haytham. I had denied this claim and told her that it was purely a decision to assist further in our plan."_

 _"But is she right?"_

 _The Templar blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry? What?"_

 _"Is she right?" Pluto repeated, "Because from what I can tell, two were involved with Kane and by extent, you. Kane had directly stolen your journal and got involved with the White Fang, so it's understandable. However, Haytham was never involved, so I ask again: is she correct?"_

 _"I brought Haddock because of their involvement with the White Fang, Haytham is their leader now. Even if I didn't bring him, he would've figured it out sooner or later. And like me, he would need to learn how to adjust to this land," Shay answered._

 _"So you were lying?"_

 _"I told part of the truth, HADK was still needed," the former Assassin tried to explain, though Pluto cut him off with a raised palm before he could explain further._

 _"A lie by omission is still a lie, Mister Cormac, and you need to speak with Blake about that your dispute with her," he raised his hand once more before Shay could retort, "It does not need to be now, given your circumstances, but it needs come soon lest a schism shalt take place within your team."_

 _Shay stood up from his seat and scratched the top of his head with a single gloved hand, "I see your point, but talking with her won't be easy. Her faunus traits are more than physical, she'll be avoiding me, much like an irritated cat... but nevertheless, I will try."_

 _"Good," Pluto grinned, "Now, you need to wake up. I can tell your partner will plan a rude awakening on your part if you continue to doze off."_

 _The Templar only sighed with an irritated expression, "I take it that you have another schematic for me to work on?"_

 _Pluto, much to Shay's surprise, only shook his head, "No... you'll only be in even more pain if I decided to wake you up with another painful bout."_

 _Shay breathed another sigh, this time in relief, "Well, isn't that fortunate... wait a minute, 'even more pain'?"_

 _Before he could receive an answer, the precursor snapped his fingers and the Templar's world faded to black._

 _Immediately, he was hit with a wave of nausea as his physical body began to awaken, that's when the realization came to him._

'Oh right... the aftereffects," _Shay groaned in his mind as his body stirred awake._

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy; Amphitheater.  
5:35 PM  
Day 24, Saturday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"And that's the match," Professor Goodwitch concluded, watching as the members of Team CRDL picked themselves up from the arena floor and limp away, their form battered and bruised were it not for their Aura.

"Lucky shot... urgh," Cardin groaned before falling over.

Well, all of them limping away, save for their leader, of course.

The Invincible Girl only shot the boy a subtle glare, too hidden for even the perceptive Glynda Goodwitch to notice. Even if she did, the woman paid no mind to it. It only seemed fair that the girl would have her resentment towards the four young men, given their infamous reputation throughout the school.

The professor then looked up at Pyrrha, who's glare was replaced by a modest smile, "Well done Miss Nikos, you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

Pyrrha only bowed her head slightly, "Thank you, professor."

Meanwhile, within the stands of the amphitheater sat the rest of the students. Team RWBY, JNPR, HADK, and the remainders of CRDL that finally made their way back to their seats, to name a few.

Weiss' attention on the fight had finally faded, turning to the rest of her surroundings... until she caught Shay dozing off beside her. At first, she had raised her hand to smack the man awake before resorting to a lecture over sleeping in class... again. Though she let it fall, mostly because he had two justified reasons.

One, due to the inhumanly large intake of alcohol, he had been suffering from a massive hangover for two days straight, then caught a surprisingly bad case of the cold immediately after, barely phasing in and out of consciousness, but nothing too serious worth noting.

And two... well, the man was now just waking up.

Weiss watched as Shay lifted his head from under his arms, his hands flying to his head as the pain returned. He gave off a short groan before turning to look at Weiss, who was looking back at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Shay?"

"Never better, Snowflake," the Templar responded, his fingers wrapping around his forehead, trying to relieve the migraine he had caught. He froze as he felt an arm wrap gingerly around his shoulder and pull him closer to the owner of said arm. He turned to see that it was Weiss who had done so, causing him to stifle a laugh, "If you keep this up, Weiss, people might just think we're in a relationship."

The girl only scowled at him before removing a pair of pills and a bottle of water, "Helps with migraines, take it with water and you'll be fine for a bit."

"Do you always carry medication wherever you go?"

Weiss gave the man an indignant huff, "Only when it's required. Your headache seems to be getting worse, and I just want to help fix it. Besides, an illness from a teammate will only hinder the team if it's not treated properly."

Shay watched as she immediately turned to face Yang, who had already opened her mouth in an attempt to tease the girl, but the Heiress already beat her to the punch.

"Not another word from you, Xiao Long!" she hissed at the boxing blonde, who only raised her arms in defeated and scooted away from the white-haired girl, "Anyway, now that you're awake. I think it's best for you to pay attention."

The Templar slowly nodded his head, not bothering to disagree with the the girl, "I'll make sure to do that."

Weiss only gave him a look, "You better, I'm watching you."

"Wouldn't that mean that you're not paying attention to the arena? That's a bit hypocritical, isn't it?"

The heiress opened her mouth to retort, then closed it as she found no way to counter that argument, "Just be quiet and watch."

He shrugged, but did as she said anyway, "Whate'er you say, Snowflake."

Weiss gave the man a cold look, though her face was red out of either anger or embarrassment, no one would really be able to tell, but she let the comment slide anyway, turning away to focus on the match at hand.

"Alright, I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match," Professor Goodwitch announced, her eyes carefully scanning the room for potential candidate for fight for the last session, "Any volunteers?"

The crowd was dead silent, Shay began to notice a sense of unintentional intimidation between the students in the seats and Pyrrha. It seems that they're unable to step forward due to the high performance the Invincible girl had put on just a while back.

However, as it seemed to the Templar, if Goodwitch cannot find volunteers, she would have to elect the combatants herself to fight.

Case in point? "Miss Belladonna?"

Shay heard the sound of a book snapping shut, the girl stood ramrod straight in her seat, her eyes wide open in surprise. The former Assassin examined the girl from afar, noticing that she had previously been tilting her head downward a bit too far with her book in her lap. And the sudden reaction to the professor's announcement? Shay knew there was a something wrong.

"You've been rather... docile for the past few classes," Goodwitch said, watching as the girl turned away with a conflicted expression upon her face, "Why don't you-"

"I'll do it," said two voices almost simultaneously. One being a grey-haired boy, and the other being... Haytham?

"Haytham Kenway, leader of Team HADK, if I may recall?" the Professor adjusted her glasses, noticing that it was the fox-eared faunus who had spoken up first, noticing the grey-haired boy's slight scowl, "Very well, give me a moment and I'll find an opponent."

"If I may interrupt once more, Professor," Haytham spoke up, "I would prefer to try my blade against Miss Nikos. It would be quite entertaining to learn of reputation of her moniker: the... Invincible Girl."

Shay watched as Pyrrha flushed slightly, looking away from the man. Not out of flatter, Shay knew that much about Pyrrha due to their... mutual intent on tutoring her partner, no... it was more out of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Mister Kenway, but I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match. You will have to choose another," she responded sternly.

"No!" Pyrrha cried, though regained composure, "It's perfectly alright."

She looked at the man, who had a small look of eagerness upon his face, "I would be happy to oblige."

Haytham hummed in acknowledgment, "Thank you very much, Miss Ni-... Pyrrha. Allow me some time to collect my belongings, I will return shortly."

"Of course," Pyrrha nodded.

Shay watched as Haytham turned to look at him, the former Grandmaster rising from his seat and beginning to walk out. The former Assassin raised his wrists, revealing his hidden blades to the man only before shaking his head and signaling him with his forearms crossed in an 'X' fashion. He only received a subtle nod from Haytham before the man left the room.

Minutes later, Haytham appeared, this time with a curved sword in his right hand and the pistol given by Shay clutched in his left.

The Templar held the pistol out with his arm outstretched towards Pyrrha; his sword-hand pulled back just inches away from his ear, his arm bent and pointed in the opposite direction while his forearm pointed parallel to him though raised approximately fifteen-degrees upward, the sword's blade pointed towards the ceiling while the sharpened tip was directly facing Pyrrha.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, had her shield raised in front of her face but still angles so one of the inwardly curved sides of the shield still allowed her some semblance of vision, while her sword had shifted into it's spear form and held towards the man. Her legs bent, yet parallel all the same. The former Assassin leaned into his seat in intrigue as he waited for the match to start.

Shay knew that the red-haired champion wouldn't be underestimating Haytham.

Underestimating Haytham... oh no... oh no!

His Aura! Shay had just realized that Haytham didn't have an Aura. This was bad, so very bad!

"Miss-!"

Before he could have the chance to speak up, Goodwitch had already gave them the right-away, the two sprung into action. The fox-eared Templar fired several shots from his pistol, watching as Pyrrha shielded herself as she charged towards him, her face obscured by the circular shield as the gap between the two began to near. Haytham swung his saber horizontally, hoping to catch Nikos off-guard before she could have the chance to look back up at the man.

Instead, Pyrrha predicted the move and countered it with a swipe of her own blade, right as it was in the middle of transforming back into it's bladed form, before retaliating with a spin-sweep. Luckily, Haytham was able to backpedal out of the way.

Shay's attention immediately turned to the screen above him. Both of their Auras were full, thank goodness for tha... hold on a minute. The Templar did a double-take before looking back up at the screen.

BOTH AURAS?!

His vision did not lie, Haytham Kenway had bore an Aura, a full one at the moment, no less.

 _H-how!?_ were Shay's only thoughts as the fight continued on even when his thoughts were elsewhere. Nevertheless, Shay continued to watch, wanting to see how this would play out.

Pyrrha attempted a stab at Haytham, but was deflected by the edge of his blade. The Templar quickly side-stepped as Pyrrha's blade still ran through, pushing past his infantry sword and allowing her to stagger forward. The crowd had no time to acknowledge Pyrrha's flaw as she quickly recomposed herself by rolling along with the subtle stagger before raising her shield to block several more shots from the Templar, listening as the shots pinged off of her shield.

Rather than allow for another attack from the young man before her, she charged back towards Haytham. Her sword shifting into a spear as she did so.

Pyrrha couldn't help but grin victoriously at the look of surprise she received from him. The Invincible Girl allowed for Haytham to strike first as the situation became more clear for the man, taking note of his sword swinging horizontally in an arc aimed for her midsection. Pyrrha responded by lowering herself to her knees in mid-sprint, allowing the sword's blade to pass under her. She then pressed a foot towards the ground in the middle of her slide and pushed herself back up, the crowd watched as she spun in mid-air and landed back to her feet and threw her shield at him.

Haytham, of course, ducked in response to the shield throw before looking back up to see the pointed end of the Invincible Girl's spear rushing towards him. The Templar barely had enough time to block the blow, but managed to do so anyway.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he looked up to see his Aura barely hovering over the green meter. The girl's aura was wavering somewhat, though Haytham never managed to land a hit. Haytham, despite his minimal knowledge of Aura, managed to deduce that her Aura was being used to compensate for her exhaustion during her last battle against Team CRDL. But that didn't mean that Pyrrha was having a difficult time, no, it seemed much like the opposite.

Every time he would strike, Pyrrha would managed to dodge or block the attack, then follow up to counterattack. Haytham had then thought he had the upper hand, managing to loosen up the girl's grip on her blade before managing to step to the side and successfully kick it out of her hands, not bothering to look up as it flew into the air, unholstering his pistol and pointing it directly at her chest before pulling the trigger.

 ***Click***

The man froze for a half-second as he looked at his given gun: empty. Dammit, he must've used them all when Pyrrha had her shield up. He looked up to see that Pyrrha recovered and used the other half of the man's second to catch her spear as it fell before pointing it at his neck.

Haytham hummed silently to himself as he looked at the spear at his throat for a moment, noticing the mischievous gleam in the girl's eyes.

Well, two can play at that game.

The red-haired girl barely had time to respond as Haytham batted the spear away with the back of his fist, lowered himself by bending his knees, and sent a fist into the girl's abdomen, catching her completely off-guard as the wind was knocked out of Pyrrha's lungs. She looked up to see Haytham's sword on a one-way course for her skull, Pyrrha immediately responded by raising her right hand and catching the sword by it's blade, using her Semblance to block it at the last second. Pyrrha mentally released a sigh as the blade rested in the palm of her hand.

She looked down to see the look on his face: his eyes wide, jaw went slack for only a brief second in shock, and his body stiff for the duration of Pyrrha holding the saber.

In other words: priceless!

Before Haytham had time for a countermove, Pyrrha's spear shifted into it's rifle form and was pointed at the man's chest. The click in the rifle's bolt telling the man that hers was far from empty.

The two locked stares for only a few seconds before Haytham loosened his grip, Pyrrha lowering her rifle at the same time, "Very well, I yield to the superior fighter."

"And with that, Pyrrha Nikos is the winner once more," Professor Goodwitch announced, looking up from her Scroll and facing the young man, "I suggest choosing an opponent equal to your skills."

Haytham only nodded before looking towards Pyrrha, who held a respectable smile on her face. The Templar held out his hand in thanks, in which the girl shook it, "Despite my defeat, thank you, Miss Nikos, you've been very kind to let me spar against you."

Shay looked up to see the timer, then looked down at Haytham and Pyrrha with an intrigued hum. The rest of Team RWBY looked at him, then to what he was looking at, each of them holding different opinions on what they saw. To them, it seemed that Pyrrha had beaten Haytham in the span of a minute and a half.

Quite an impressive time, for Haytham at least. Everyone else figured that he would last shorter than that.

"You're welcome," Pyrrha nodded, "You had me thinking for a few moments here and there, I'll admit. You're a great fighter yourself."

Never let it be said that Pyrrha wasn't allowed to enjoy at least some of the battles she partook in. Because it was very interesting to fight against Shay's friend. While he had lost, the man refused to pull his punches... literally, in her case. The punch had hurt, but it was not unwelcome, she had been relieved to fare against a challenger who fought with only his fists when their weapon couldn't do the job, something that most people (save for Yang) didn't tend to consider.

Besides being able to rely on his hands, he was a fair tactician with his blade, managing to predict and block or parry her attacks at just the right moments. Though his use in his pistol was a little rusty, he compensated with keeping her distracted with it.

Regardless, it was a good fight.

"That is all for today," Goodwitch announced. Shay flinched slightly at the buzzer while Blake snapped up at roughly the same time. He took note of the dark rings around the girl's eyes, "And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday."

As soon as everyone began to leave the amphitheater, Haytham turned to see Shay making his way towards him, "Good afternoon Shay."

Shay only nodded before popping a pill into his mouth and downing it with a swig of a water bottle. Haytham raised an eyebrow as he heard the audible gulp as the Irishman tilted his head back, "Aye, though not one for me, that's for sure."

"Tsk, yes... I heard about what happened," Haytham replied, "I had told Blake to give you my regards, hopefully you received it."

"Suprisingly, Blake and I aren't exactly on good terms at the moment."

"I see," the former Grandmaster raised a hand to his chin, "Well then, I hope you're able to fix your relations with her."

Shay only shrugged, "Only time'll tell. By the way, that was a pretty good fight with Pyrrha."

The British Templar only shrugged off the compliment with a nod, the two beginning to leave the arena as they conversed onwards, "Indeed it was a rather invigorating challenge. Though my loss would have to count as attempting to gauge the young woman's abilities and seeing how much punishment my new aura can take."

He then looked at the man beside him stopped. Shay's expression contorted into concern and his body stopped in mid-stride for a split-second. Immediately after, he began to walk once more, albeit at a much slower pace. Haytham raised an eyebrow at his subtle, yet sudden actions, "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, there is. Just a question, Haytham," Shay stopped and grasped Haytham's shoulder, pulling him out of the arena alongside him and out of the facility, much to the young man's protest, " _How the hell did you get an Aura?!"_

Haytham didn't bother flinching as his comrade practically held him against the wall, likely planning on holding him there until his query was cleared. He only swatted Shay's hand away from his shoulder and threw him a puzzled look.

"You unlocked my Aura for me in the middle of our reconnaissance," Haytham answered, "I was sure you would've remembered that, drunkard be damned."

That earned an "Oi!" from the the Irishman as that earned him a hard slug to the shoulder. The Brit decided to let that slide before they continued making their way to the rest of team RWBY.

"I injured myself during our... foolhardy stunts on the highway. You came to my aid by complete chance and decided to unlock my aura," the man continued to explain, "Afterwards, we ended up dragging each other through the rest of the road before stumbling across Torchwick."

Rather than earn a legitimate answer, Shay only scratched the top of his head in confusion, "That doesn't sound like me, Haytham. I barely remember what Weiss had said when she had unlocked my Aura, much more recite the lines myself."

Haytham hummed in acknowledgement, placing his thumb and index finger to his chin in thought. It seemed clear to him that this was a rather unclear conundrum to solve... how Shay was able to remember something that he shouldn't have, even more under the influence of a rather large intake of liquor. It seems that he would have to brush this puzzle under the metaphorical carpet and decide to find an answer at a more relevant time.

"Nevermind that, Shay," he brushed off the subject and decided to move onto another matter, "Besides your unintentional feud with Blake, there seems to be something... off with her."

The Irish only glanced at him with an amused look, "You takin' an interest in my 'mates, Haytham? If so, I completely understand, with you bein' a fox faunus 'n all. Though you'll have to catch up with Sun, seein' as he's in the lead so far-"

 ***Slap!***

A loud smack resonated off of the back of Shay's head, sending him forward for about a foot until he regained balance. He rubbed the back of his skull with a hand to see Haytham doing the same, only to his own hand.

"What the hell was that for?" Shay groaned, feeling his headache returned before it managed to subside.

"For being a idiot," he responded harshly, "My relations with Blake are completely professional. We exchanged information on our previous mission and I saw a change in her mood."

"More so than usual?" the former Assassin grunted.

Haytham nodded, motioning to the girl that was already berating Sun for attempting to ask her to the dance.

 _Harsh_.

"So..." Shay trailed off, "Are you going to the dance?"

Haytham nodded, "I see no reason not to go. First time arriving on another world, it would be foolish not to at least be aware of this land's customs... even if it is just a school. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," the Irishman said... a little too quickly. Realizing this, he decided to divert the man's attention before he could take notice. Shay then looked to Blake, who was still walking away, "What do you think is Blake's situation, you know? Like the dark rings around her eyes?"

"Sleep deprivation, from what I can tell. She's ruining herself just to find out more about the White Fang," the British Templar observed.

They watched as the raven-haired girl walked away, with Sun slumped over at her rejection. Shay only walked over and patted him on the back.

"Did you really think she was going to say yes?" Shay asked the monkey faunus, who only shrugged and turned around to meet up with the rest of his team not too far away.

 _'Damn, even Sun is worried about her,'_ the former Assassin realized. He then turned to Haytham, "I'll see you tomorrow, Haytham."

Haytham looked at Shay, then to the rest of Team RWBY, then to Blake, who had just turned the corner and disappeared, "Of course, until then."

Shay looked to Ruby, Yang, and Weiss, each of which had looks of disappointment on their faces, "Come on girls, let's head back to the dorm."

Though they were reluctant, the three before him nodded in agreement and started to head back. The four completely silent on their travel back to the Team's room.

 **-Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted-**

 **Beacon Academy; Team RWBY's Dorm.  
8:45 PM  
Day 24, Saturday (Month 11, Year 0)**

"Blake, we need to talk," was the first words that had been said as soon as she had entered the room. Weiss and Ruby sitting on the former's bed, Yang sat on the bed opposite of them, while Shay was too busy reading that book he had picked out from the Library.

Team RWBY's dorm had been their safe haven for the past semester and now. A room in which five friends had lived together and helped one another through the hardships that had been the first semester. But now? Their dorm had been turned into Blake's personal planning room when the library was too crowded or busy.

The girl had spent countless hours, researching both day and night for what the White Fang had been planning. She sacrificed her hours of sleep believing that this would help uncover the White Fang's next move. The rest of the team had agreed to help her, but it seemed as though they had become more reluctant on doing so. Regardless, if they wouldn't help her, so be it. She could do this herself.

Nevertheless, she complied. The faunus girl carefully strode to the other side of the room and took a seat beside Yang, "Yes?"

The three girls turned to look at each for a split-second before Weiss spoke, "We want you to attend the dance with us."

Blake immediately recoiled at the Heiress' behest, caught completely off-guard by the words that had left her. Shay, on the other hand, looked up from his book in surprise, clearly having not heard the news beforehand, "You what?!"

"We want you to go to the dance," Ruby repeated.

"That's ridiculous," Blake crossed her arms and gave the girl an irked look.

"Blake, we're worried about you," Yang said, looking at her partner with her careful violet eyes, "This investigation is getting to you."

The white-haired girl followed after her, "You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering."

"You think I care about grades?!" Blake cried, her hand outstretched as she realized the absurdity of the girl's observation, "People's lives are at stake!"

"We know, we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to," Yang said, lowering Blake's arm as she tried to calm the faunus down.

"Thanks to you, Sun, and Haytham, we know they're operating somewhere out of Southeast Vale.

"And-" Weiss held a finger up in emphasis, "- the Schnee Dust Company records singled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months."

"Don't forget about their missing military tech too," Yang remarked before turning to look at Shay, "Hey big guy, what'd you find out from your little experience in the club."

Shay lowered his book and looked up, trying to recall what Junior's men had told him, "Something about... Junior's men winding up in jail during a failed Dust robbery incident."

The man didn't need to look down to know that Ruby was blushing in embarrassment at the first time the two had met, "Heh heh... yeah, that's uh... interesting..."

Yang nodded her head, "Interesting, but it doesn't tell us anything."

The blonde's partner only shook her head, closing her eyes and trying concentrate, "Despite all we had learned, there's still unanswered questions."

Ruby decided that now was the time to step in, "Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open."

"All that we're asking is that you take it easy for one day."

"It will be fun!" Weiss assured, "Yang and I will make sure of it."

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event."

"Excuse me?" Blake demanded, the way she had said it was as though the news had come as some sort of insult to her ears... all four of them.

"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected-"

"- So Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off," Yang continued off of Weiss' explanation, "And now we can make sure you have the perfect night-"

"- And once it's all over we'll return to our search, rested and ready," Weiss finished with a smile before turning to the corner of the room, "Of course, we're going to have Shay helping alongside us for skipping out on the training sessions that **he personally implemented for us in the first place.** "

Shay looked down from his book once more to retort, "Do I ever have a say in anything?"

"Stings doesn't it?" Yang grinned evilly at him, "And I have a feeling Weiss-cream is going to enjoy this way too much."

"Of cour- wait! What's that supposed to mean?!" Weiss exclaimed, glaring at the blonde boxer with a fierce look.

"Anyways," Ruby interrupted the argument before it could begin, "So what do you think?"

Blake opened her eyes, inhaling silently to herself before opening them, "I think this is a colossal waste of time."

They watched as Blake rose from the bed and began to make her way to the door ahead. She opened it before looking back at them, "I'll be at the library."

The faunus took one last look at them before closing the door behind her, sighing deeply before turning and walking away-

-only to then see Jaune walking towards her... with a guitar.

Immediately, she turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction, taking the hallway on the other side, hoping to take a little detour on her way to the library. Either way, she was going to find out more about the White Fang's operation outside of Vale, with or without her friends.

Before her thoughts could trail any further off, she stumbled back as a force had collided with her, though she was caught just in the nick of time as an arm wrapped around her waist and brought her back to balancing on her feet. Her mind was on edge, her thoughts racing through her head at a collective speed of a thousand miles per hour as she was barely able to process what had happened to her just now.

Eventually, after a half-second, she was able to process this, she turned to quickly apologize for whoever had bumped into her, only to immediately freeze up at the sight of none other than Haytham Kenway, himself.

"Mm hm," Haytham cleared his throat, "Forgive me, Miss Belladonna, I must apologize for running into you."

"No no," she waved off, "I-it's fine, really. What're you doing here anyway?"

"I was originally going to speak with Shay, but then I had accidentally bumped into you by accident on my way there," he explained, pulling out a pocket watch and looking at it before closing it, "It seems I still have more time to spare for the time being," he then looked at her in curiosity, "If you are going anywhere, it would be best if I accompanied you. If there's anything I can do to make up for your trouble, it would be in my best interest to assist."

Blake opened her mouth to refuse, but instead decided it would be an opportunity she couldn't pass up, "Of course, I was just heading to the library. I... would also like to speak to you about something in a little bit, if you wouldn't mind."

He shook his head, "Certainly not, I don't mind at all," the young fox-eared faunus then pointed his arm in the direction of the library, "Shall we?"

The girl only nodded, walking off with the Templar in tow.

 **-May the Father of Understanding guide us-**

 **Beacon Academy; Team RWBY's Dorm.  
9:00 PM  
Day 24, Saturday (Month 11, Year 0)**

 _"~Weeeeeeiiiissssss!~"_ was most **definitely** not the kind of sound Shay would expect to hear when the Heiress had taken it upon herself to open the door. Because of all the things that could knock, and out of everything to say that, it had to be Jaune Arc holding a guitar.

Shay watched as she then slammed the door on his face, causing the Irish Templar himself to stifle a laugh.

Poor sod.

They then heard a collection of knocks on the door, "Oh come on! Open the door... I promise not to sing..."

Weiss only sighed, giving the boy behind the door an exasperated look, before opening it one more time.

Immediately, they were granted another song from the leader of Team JNPR himself, his sole audience immediately facepalming, " _~I liiiieeed!~"_

Yang slammed the palm of her hand over Shay's mouth just before he could erupt in a fit of laughter, "Shut up, I wanna see where this goes."

 _"~Weiss Shnee! Will you accompany meee?! To the dance on... Sunday?!~"_ Jaune sang, playing his guitar with... surprisingly decent skill. Honestly, he could've made a job out that if being a Huntsman couldn't cut it.

"Are you done?" his aforementioned audience asked.

He shifted his head slightly before smiling sheepishly at her, "Yes?"

 ***WHAM!***

"No," she turned around to see Ruby and Yang giving her looks, "What?"

"And that is why they call you the Ice Queen," Yang said, finally letting of Shay, who immediately collapsed onto the floor.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," he cried out in laughter, tears streaming down his face, "I ca- I can't take it! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name," Weiss tried to explain, "Besides, I already have a date in mind."

That was strike one.

"Oh," Yang's eyes half-lidded in mischief, "Do you? And who would that be? Because I know Mister Blue Hair doesn't really cut it for you, and Jaune's already a lost cause at this point. I think I have an idea of who you might be taking..."

Weiss immediately began to turn red at the implications, "I don't understand what you're trying to say."

That was strike two.

"Come on, Weiss!" the girl wrapped an arm around the Heiress, who was now trying to find a way out of the boxer's tight vice, "You can tell us who the lucky bachelor's name is... unless it's actually-"

Yang leaned in close until she was barely touching Weiss' ear.

"-A _she_."

Weiss immediately broke out of the headlock with an inhuman feat of superhuman strength, "Alright! I'll tell you."

And home run!

"Uh huh," Yang grinned, "We're listening."

"I'm going wytseh..." she mumbled, looking away from the rest of her team with a tinge of pink spreading across her cheeks.

"Can't hear you!" Yang's grin began to grow even wider.

"I said that I'm going with..." Weiss attempted to mumble her way out of it.

"Either you tell them or I do," Yang's grin began to stretch it's limits, "~Because I think I have a good idea who it is!~"

"I'm going with Shay!" the girl yelled, "Alright! I'm taking Shay to the dance with me! There I said it! Shay and I are going... together... to the dance this Sunday!"

Both girls turned away from the now red-faced (definitely out of embarrassment this time) Heiress and diverted their attention to the only male member of Team RWBY, who was now in the process of picking himself off of the floor.

"Did you agree to this?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow in concern.

"Surprisingly-" that earned a 'hey!' from Weiss, "- Yes, I agreed."

There was a thick awkward silence permeating the room, so it was in Ruby's best interest to (semi) change the subject, "Well, whether we go or not, none of this'll matter if we can't get Blake to go to the dance."

Yang decided to speak up, mostly to cheer up her little sister, "Don't worry, Rubes, I have a plan."

Weiss sighed in relief, "Well... if it works, then that solves a majority of our problems. Speaking of problems, Jaune-"

Ouch.

"-Won't seem to let up in his courting... attempts? I can't even call it that," she only placed a hand to her head, "Was it just because of what I said when we first came to Beacon?"

Everyone then turned to hear Shay chuckling... nervously, "I may have been involved in that little conundrum..."

Weiss immediately turned full attention to the former Templar before her, "What do you mean exactly, Cormac?"

Shay scratched the back of his head, trying to find the best way he could put his answer in the correct words, "You remember that time between you and Ruby? The incident that earned Ruby's... uncommon nickname: Crater-face?"

"Don't remind me!" Ruby hid her face behind her arms, blushing deeply at the mention of that name, "I tried to wipe that name from existence ever since it was made!"

Weiss nodded, "I... may have told him that you may have been his type... and he may have stuck with it..."

The whole room was silent, save for Weiss' deep sigh.

"Damn," Yang only said.

"Girls," the Heiress started, her voice polite and innocent, but Shay can sense the subtle presence of malice in her voice, "If you can leave him and I for only a few minutes, this won't take long."

The effect was instant, with Yang and Ruby instantly leaving the room without hesitation.

As soon as the door closed behind them, they were immediately introduced to the sound of Weiss in what Yang called 'Full-bitch mode'... normally reserved for hated girls she knew, the spiteful of ex-girlfriends of several guy-friends she knew, but now... Weiss as well.

"I think it'd be best to hang out in JNPR's dorm, Ren might be making pancakes," Yang tried to distract her sister, then covered the girl's ears with both hands as she lead the unsuspecting and innocent little sister of hers away from Weiss' more... profane comments.

 _Sheesh, what a night!_

 **-Never divulge the true nature of our work-**

 **Beacon Academy; School Hallways.  
9:05 PM  
** **Day 24, Saturday (Month 11, Year 0)** **  
**

"So what was it you wanted to speak with me about?" Haytham asked, breaking the awkward silence as only a few minutes have passed in silence.

The black-haired girl only flinched at the suddenness at his question, just as well as his voice briefly bringing her back from the brink of collapsing then and there out of sleep deprivation. She looked away from Haytham to see the hallway before them devoid of students as they were all in the process of heading to the luncheon.

"How's the rest of your team?" Blake asked, trying to find a way to break the awkward tension between the two, "Are they still recovering from the... incident?"

She figured that asking him about his team would at least give the two some semblance of small talk.

"They're fine. Now, are you going to answer my question or are you going to keep prattling about and avoid the question?"

Nevermind.

Blake sighed, seeing as he wasn't in a patient mood. In other circumstances, she would've related to that, but she had other matters to deal with, "I... I wanted to know why you wanted to help us."

"I don't follow," Haytham said, placing his hands behind his back as the two continued to walk on.

"I mean, why did you want to help us with the White Fang?" she repeated, making sure to be more specific, "I know Shay had decided to let you in on our plan, and that your teammates were directly involved in their plans, but I don't understand why you would just go out of your way to help us."

Blake's ears flicked to the side as she heard Haytham sigh. The two stopped as the man turned and leaned against the wall, beckoning to her. She approached him until they were only a few feet apart, watching as he then removed his tricorn hat, revealing his auburn-colored fox ears matching his hair.

"Miss Belladonna... I know you're a faunus as well," he confessed, waiting to see what her reaction would be. Haytham watched as she tensed up as soon as the words left him- inhaling sharply, shoulders raising in agitation, and her eyes narrowing at him in suspicion- only to watch as she visibly relaxed just seconds after.

"Figures you would find out," she closed her eyes and grinned humorlessly, "I guess Shay told you, since you two are so buddy-buddy with one another."

Haytham admittedly nodded, "He also told me of your personal relations... with the White Fang."

Blake's eyes flew open immediately and a growl softly escaped her throat, though it was by no means unintimidating. She turned sharply in a one-eighty and began to make her way back to the dorm, wanting to have a... well-met word with Shay over her personal secrets.

Before that can happen, however, she felt a hand grasp firmly around her upper arm, stopping her in mid-stride. Blake turned around to see Haytham's hand locked into her bicep, a concerned look playing about on his face.

"Let. Go," she growled.

"No."

The faunus girl flinched in surprise, not expecting such an answer from the man, "No?"

He shook his head before letting go of her arm, his head rising only for a bit before locking eyes with the girl as she had turned to face him, "You wanted to hear my side of your answer, so you'll get it. I expect you to not run off with an unanswered question, so I will say this nicely. Stay... _please._ "

The two were still for only a few seconds, but it felt like minutes of silence. Eventually, Blake turned back and stood before him. She rubbed her hand against her arm- not that he hurt her, no. Haytham was a gentleman, through and through, it seemed... she was just brushing away the sensation, "Alright, I'll listen."

Haytham smiled at her, "Good, now let me explain-"

She was listening, obviously.

"-I sought to help because of the White Fang. From what you and Shay had described, they had started out peacefully before turning to more... radical methods of change. When Shay had told me of them, I saw them as a complete threat to your kingdoms, but when Shay had told me of your... background and the fact that was able to place complete trust in you, I had seen a glimmer of potential, despite that I was hiding it with a more aggressive response to Shay," Haytham explained, his face returning to it's cold demeanor.

Blake's eyes narrowed at the mention of Shay... and his trust in her. Not exactly expecting that kind of response.

"That is... until I had traveled alongside you and Sun to the rally. Yes, I had been on edge, but I wanted to see up-close what this had been about, then I saw their involvement with a criminal, Roman Torchwick, I recall. That is when I knew that the White Fang was our enemy," he continued, "So that is why I fight, Blake Belladonna. I seek to help protect the people, be it faunus or human, from those that seek to bring harm unto them."

She nodded, lowering her head in shame, "I know, and I understand where you're coming from. I thought that they could change, that there would be a chance... but no, they are far too gone into their actions."

"When I was a member-" she stopped to see if anyone was listening, luckily there was no one to be found, "-I always thought that we were doing the right thing, and we were, for some part of my life. But it all changed over time, otherwise I would've seen what had happened earlier. I never had stopped to wonder when we had gone too far until it was too late. All that mattered was fighting for the rights of my people-"

Blake stopped herself, looking back up at Haytham's fox ears, giving the man an apologetic look, "-for _our_ people sorry about that, Haytham... it's just that you act so... _human_."

 _'If only you knew,'_ a thought passed through the Templar, "I understand, Miss Belladonna-"

"Please," she sighed, "Just call me Blake, I'm... starting to think that Shay was right, he really does trust you."

Haytham tilted his head to the side in thought, "Then I think it would be best to apologize to him. And I'll see if I can convince him to do the same, if only out of any hostility he may have displayed towards you."

The girl only shook her head, "It's fine. Just... thank you. Oh, it seems that we're here already."

"Yes, it appears so," Haytham murmured, "Anyway, this was a rather interesting discussion. I hope that you find... whatever it is you're looking for."

Blake only nodded, "Of course, have a good night, Haytham."

Haytham repeated her action, placing his hat back on his head and tipping it to her. He watched as the girl turned away, walking into the well-lit room filled to the brim with books. There was something interesting about this girl, something... familiar...

The Templar blinked his eyes for a few seconds, trying to clear away what he had hoped was only a hallucination. Haytham pinched the bridge of his nose, clearing away any distractions before seeing that it was Blake once again that was walking off.

"Must be nerves," he muttered to himself before turning on his heels and walking off.

Haytham honestly hoped that it was a mere sleep deprived vision, rather than a reminiscence of... older times.

Because when he was about to turn away from Blake at the last moment and walk away... he saw Ziio take her place for only a flash of a moment before disappearing and having Blake take her place once more.

The man decided that sleep would be the solution, he was just drowsy, that's all.

Sleep... that's all he needed at the moment.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Wow, what a night, what a chapter, what a 2016.**

 **Thank you everyone, for being patient enough to wait for the next chapter of The Hunter, a story that I had decided to shorten by removing the 'RWBY', because we all know it's about RWBY anyway... because it's in the RWBY crossover section. **

**Anyways, I really don't have anything else to say except this:**

 **Thank you, everyone for reading, keep an eye out for the next chapter, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **And as always, stay beautiful, ladies and gents.**


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